Sharp-tailed Grouse

The grouse's natural habitat is in deciduous and mixed forests, especially in those with dense undergrowth and scattered clearings. They occur from the tree line of Alaska and northern Canada south throughout our country. During the summer the grouse feeds on insects, seeds, fruits and sometimes, a small snake or frog; the winter diet is much more limited consisting of buds and catkins. A shallow, sheltered depression lined with leaves and filled with 9 to 12 pinkish-buff, plain or spotted eggs characterizes the nest.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) habitats are steppe, and grasslands. They are distributed over most of the central and western United States and western Canada. These Grouse are medium-sized, 40 to 48cm long and 500 to 1000g heavy. Both genders are cryptically colored, and the upper body is heavily barred with dark brown, black, and buff. Normally the underside of a Grouse is white. Females have a  continuous dark line along both sides of the head and darker brown feathers. Males have a pale violet airsac and a yellow-orange comb over each eye.

In British Columbia the Sharp-tailed Grouse is the only species that exhibits lekking behaviour. They start lekking during spring when the males congregate and defend territories in traditional areas known as dancing grounds or leks. The dance moves are used to impress the females. There is a variety of habitat for Sharp-tailed Grouse, although the presence of open areas juxtaposed with shrubby and open parkland is common to all occupied areas. In British Columbia the Sharp-tailed Grouse is found at elevations from 275 to 2135m. The main predators of Grouse are Coyotes, Northern Goshawks, Short eared Owls, Great Horned Owls and Red tailed Hawks.

Source: Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Issues:

• There may be herbicide spraying in regions in the Sub Region that may be affecting birds that eat or depend on the sprayed plants

Goals:

• Determine where and when herbicide spraying occurs, and what plant species are being treated
• Determine if the herbicide spraying is affecting sharp-tailed grouse populations