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40-566: Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus Centrocercus. The genus includes two species : the Gunnison grouse ( Centrocercus minimus ) and the greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). These birds are distributed throughout large portions of the north-central and Western United States , as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan . The International Union for Conservation of Nature classified

80-403: A "strutting display." The male puffs up a large, whitish air sack on its chest, makes a soft drumming noise, and struts around with his tail feathers displayed and air sack puffed up. Groups of females observe these displays and select the most attractive males to mate with. Only a few males do most of the breeding. Males perform on leks for several hours in the early morning and evening during

120-526: A group of birds from the order Galliformes , in the family Phasianidae . Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae ), a classification supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence studies, and applied by the American Ornithologists' Union , ITIS , International Ornithological Congress , and others. Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of

160-508: A male defends a territory which has resources that females need, like food and nest sites. These differences in male behavior in mating systems account for the evolution of body size in grouse. Males of territorial species were smaller than those of exploded lekking species, and males of typical lekking species were the largest overall. The male birds that exhibit lekking behavior, and have to compete with other males for females to choose them, have greater sexual dimorphism in size. This suggests

200-474: A part of pre-columbian diets and were represented in certain traditional ceremonies, as well. Indeed, Sage Grouse previously inhabited most of what became the western United States, with ranges in 16 different states. In their day, Lewis and Clark were credited with the 'discovery' of five gallinaceous birds in addition to the sage grouse—the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, the dusky grouse, Franklin's grouse,

240-426: A third species. Males of C. urophasianus are the largest grouse from temperate North America, attaining a maximum weight of 3.2 kilograms (7 lb). Adults have a long, pointed tail and legs with feathers to the toes. As in most Galliformes , there is pronounced sexual dimorphism .} Centrocercus species are notable for their elaborate courtship rituals. Each spring males congregate on leks and perform

280-420: Is a shallow depression or scrape on the ground—often in cover—with a scanty lining of plant material. The female lays one clutch , but may replace it if the eggs are lost. She begins to lay about a week after mating and lays one egg every day or two; the clutch comprises five to 12 eggs. The eggs have the shape of hen's eggs and are pale yellow, sparsely spotted with brown. On laying the second-last or last egg,

320-542: Is called sexual dimorphism . Male grouse tend to be larger than female grouse, which seems to hold true across all the species of grouse, with some difference within each species in terms of how drastic the size difference is. The hypothesis with the most supporting evidence for the evolution of sexual dimorphism in grouse is sexual selection. Sexual selection favors large males; stronger selection for larger size in males leads to greater size dimorphism. Female size will increase correspondingly as male size increases, and this

360-509: Is due to heredity (but not to the extent of the male size). This is because females that are smaller will still be able to reproduce without a substantial disadvantage, but this is not the case with males. The largest among the male grouse (commonly dubbed 'Biggrouse') attract the greatest numbers of females during their mating seasons. Male grouse display lekking behavior, which is when many males come together in one area and put on displays to attract females. Females selectively choose among

400-506: Is found in significant numbers within only half of the states comprising its original territories. The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and other organizations have petitioned to list the grouse under the Endangered Species Act. In March 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) concluded that greater sage-grouse are warranted for protection as "threatened" under the U.S. federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). However

440-441: Is now Cowtrack Mountain (east and south of Mono Basin); eventually covering 300 square miles (780 km ) and reaching a maximum thickness of 600 feet (180 m). Later volcanism in the area occurred 3.8 million to 250,000 years ago. This activity was northwest of Mono Basin and included the formation of Aurora Crater, Beauty Peak, Cedar Hill (later an island in the highest stands of Mono Lake), and Mount Hicks. Lake Russell

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480-620: Is the mascot of the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens , the joint athletics program for Pomona College and Pitzer College , two of the Claremont Colleges . Grouse Pucrasia Meleagris Bonasa Tetrastes Centrocercus Dendragapus Tympanuchus Lagopus Falcipennis Canachites Tetrao Lyrurus and see text Tetraonidae Vigors , 1825 Tetraoninae Vigors, 1825 Grouse / ɡ r aʊ s / are

520-672: The C. minimus species as endangered in 2020 and C. urophasianus as near threatened in 2016. The specific epithet is from another Greek word, "oura", plus "phasianos", pheasant. The noun " pheasant " was originally applied to a bird that was native to the valley of the Phasis River (now the Rioni River ), which is located in Georgia . In the time of Lewis and Clark the word "pheasant" stood for "a genus of gallinaceous birds", according to lexicographer Noah Webster (1806), and

560-610: The Northern Hemisphere , from pine forests to moorland and mountainside , from 83°N ( rock ptarmigan in northern Greenland ) to 28°N ( Attwater's prairie chicken in Texas ). The turkeys are closely allied with grouse, but they have traditionally been excluded from Tetraonini, often placed in their own tribe, subfamily, or family; certain more modern treatments also exclude them. Later phylogenomic analyses demonstrated conclusively that they are sister to

600-490: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigated some of the reasons for the declining sage-grouse population. Researchers observed cattle who share grazing land with the sage-grouse. They found that cattle, after consuming about 40% of the tussocks in between sagebrush bushes, will continue to consume the tussocks growing underneath the sagebrush, thereby destroying the nesting habitat for

640-787: The frontal fault of the Sierra Nevada . The basin is part of the Walker Lane , an area where much of the deformation between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate occurs. The basin was formed by geological forces over the last five million years: basin and range crustal stretching and associated volcanism and faulting at the base of the Sierra Nevada . From 4.5 to 2.6 million years ago, large volumes of basalt were extruded around what

680-490: The ptarmigans , have legs which are entirely covered in feathers; in winter the toes, too, have feathers or small scales on the sides, an adaptation for walking on snow and burrowing into it for shelter. Unlike many other galliforms, they typically have no spurs , although turkeys do possess very prominent spurs. Grouse feed mainly on vegetation—buds, catkins , leaves, and twigs—which typically accounts for over 95% of adults' food by weight. Thus, their diets vary greatly with

720-701: The red grouse and the ruffed grouse have benefited from habitat management. Most grouse species are listed by the IUCN as "least concern" or "near threatened", but the greater and lesser prairie chicken are listed as "vulnerable" and the Gunnison grouse is listed as "endangered". Some subspecies, such as Attwater's prairie chicken and the Cantabrian capercaillie , and some national and regional populations are also in danger. The wild turkey precipitously declined before returning to abundance, even in developed areas. The phenotypic difference between males and females

760-489: The New York Times: The Trump administration on Thursday published documents detailing its plan to roll back Obama-era protections for the vast habitat of the greater sage grouse, a chickenlike bird that roams across nearly 11 million acres [4.5 million hectares] in 10 oil-rich Western states. The earlier proposal to protect the bird, whose waning numbers have brought it close to endangerment,

800-653: The Oregon ruffed grouse, and the mountain quail; they were the first to widely spread knowledge about these birds to European settlers . In September 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) stalled in Congress because President Trump indicated he would not let the annual NDAA proceed to a vote in the House of Representatives unless it contained language to bar the sage grouse from

840-514: The USFWS also concluded that immediate listing was "precluded" by higher listing priorities for other jeopardized species. Thus they designated the species a "Level 8 Candidate" for addition to the list of threatened species at some future date. Their finding is being litigated by groups contending the species should immediately receive protections under the ESA. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of

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880-544: The explorers often used it in that sense. "Gallinaceous" then referred to "domestic fowls, or the gallinae"; the family Galliformes (Latin "gallus", cock, and "forma", shape) now includes pheasants, grouse, turkeys, quail, and all domestic chickens. Sage grouse are also collectively known as "sagehen," "sage grouse," "sage cock," "sage chicken," or "cock of the plains." Sage grouse have been widely recognized in Native American culture for some time. The animals were

920-1145: The federal endangered species list until at least 2025. President Trump threatened a veto over the issue that Trump, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman , believed would be sustained. Current US Air Force spending on sage grouse conservation is around US$ 200,000, with eight known military installations having confirmed grouse populations: Dugway Proving Ground and Tooele Army Depot in Utah ; Sheridan Training Area and Camp Guernsey in Wyoming ; Hawthorne Army Depot and Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada ; Yakima Training Center in Washington , and Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho . There are two species: [REDACTED] Male [REDACTED] Female [REDACTED] Male [REDACTED] Female The Mono Basin population may represent

960-404: The female starts 21 to 28 days of incubation. Chicks hatch in dense, yellow-brown down and leave the nest immediately. They soon develop feathers and can fly shortly before they are two weeks old. The female (and the male in the willow grouse) stays with them and protects them until their first autumn, when they reach their mature weights (except in the male capercaillies ). They are sexually mature

1000-581: The following spring, but often do not mate until later years. Grouse make up a considerable part of the vertebrate biomass in the Arctic and Subarctic. Their numbers may fall sharply in years of bad weather or high predator populations—significant grouse populations are a major food source for lynx , foxes , martens , and birds of prey . The three tundra species have maintained their former numbers. The prairie and forest species have declined greatly because of habitat loss, though popular game birds such as

1040-456: The ground at dawn and dusk, which in some are given in leks . The displays feature males' brightly colored combs and in some species, brightly colored inflatable sacs on the sides of their necks. The males display their plumage , give vocalizations that vary widely between species, and may engage in other activities, such as drumming or fluttering their wings, rattling their tails, and making display flights. Occasionally, males fight. The nest

1080-411: The hypothesis of sexual selection affecting male body size and also gives an explanation for why some species of grouse have a more drastic difference between male and female body size than others. Sexual size dimorphism can manifest itself differently between grouse and other birds. In some cases, the female is dominant over the male in breeding behavior, which can result in females that are larger than

1120-459: The largest grouse species, attaining lengths of 130 cm (50 in) and weighing up to 10 kg (22 lb). Male grouse are larger than females, and can be twice as heavy in the western capercaillie (the largest of the traditional grouse). Like many other galliforms, males often sport incredibly elaborate ornamentation, such as crests, fan-tails, and inflatable, brightly colored patches of bare skin. Many grouse have feathered nostrils, and some species, such as

1160-425: The males present for traits they find more appealing. Male grouse exhibit two types: typical lekking and exploded lekking. In typical lekking, males display in small areas defending a limited territory, and in exploded lekking, displaying males are covered over an expansive land area and share larger territories. Male grouse can also compete with one another for access to female grouse through territoriality, in which

1200-710: The males. Grouse are game , and hunters kill millions each year for food, sport, and other uses. In the United Kingdom, this takes the form of driven grouse shooting . The male black grouse 's tail feathers are a traditional ornament for hats in areas such as Scotland and the Alps . Folk dances from the Alps to the North American prairies imitate the displays of lekking males. Mono Basin Estimates of

1240-615: The most social, forming flocks of up to 100 in winter. All grouse spend most of their time on the ground, though when alarmed, they may take off in a flurry and go into a long glide. Most species stay within their breeding range all year, but make short seasonal movements; many individuals of the ptarmigan (called rock ptarmigan in the US) and willow grouse (called willow ptarmigan in the US) migrate hundreds of kilometers. In all but one species (the willow ptarmigan ), males are polygamous . Many species have elaborate courtship displays on

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1280-437: The nest to undertake self-maintenance activities, thought these recess activities are typically within 250 m of the nest. Chicks can walk as soon as they are hatched and are able to fly short distances within two weeks. Within five weeks they are able to fly longer distances. Populations of sage grouse are in decline due to environment loss and decline of the pristine plains environments it requires to mate. The sage grouse

1320-553: The sage-grouse. In order to preserve the population of sage-grouse, ranchers can monitor the rate at which cattle consume the tussocks in between sagebrush bushes. Once cattle have consumed around 40% of the tussocks in between bushes, researchers ask that ranchers move their cattle to new grazing trail. GPS trackers show that sage grouse congregate in small areas with certain resources, rather than being widely spread. US federal conservation plans have been met with lawsuits from wildlife organizations. On December 6, 2018, according to

1360-667: The seasons. Hatchlings eat mostly insects and other invertebrates , gradually reducing their proportion of animal food to adult levels. Several of the forest-living species are notable for eating large quantities of conifer needles, which most other vertebrates refuse. To digest vegetable food, grouse have big crops and gizzards , eat grit to break up food, and have long intestines with well-developed caeca in which symbiotic bacteria digest cellulose . Forest species flock only in autumn and winter, though individuals tolerate each other when they meet. Prairie species are more social, and tundra species (ptarmigans, Lagopus ) are

1400-534: The size of the basin range from 634 to 801 square miles, and the basin's elevation ranges from around 6,380 feet (level of Mono Lake as of 1986) to 13,061 feet atop Mount Dana near the Sierra Crest . Notable features in the basin include Mono Lake and the Mono-Inyo Craters , as well as the town of Lee Vining . Geologically the basin is a structural basin that is bordered to the west by

1440-535: The southeast, then into the Owens River, and eventually into Lake Manly in Death Valley . Prominent shore lines of Lake Russell, called strandlines by geologists, can be seen west of Mono Lake. Mono Basin is currently geologically active. Volcanic activity is related to the Mono-Inyo Craters : the most recent eruption occurred 350 years ago, resulting in the formation of Paoha Island . Panum Crater

1480-410: The spring months between February and April. Leks are generally open areas adjacent to dense sagebrush stands, and the same lek may be used by grouse for decades. Hens build nests and lay and incubate their eggs under the cover of sagebrush . The hen uses grass and forbs between patches of sagebrush for additional cover. During incubation, female Sand Grouse undertake recesses, where they leave

1520-622: The traditionally-defined grouse, and they, along with the somewhat earlier-diverging koklass pheasant , may be treated as grouse (i.e., as basal members of the Tetraonini). This is reflected in some more recent circumscriptions. Like many other galliforms, grouse are generally heavily-built birds. The traditional grouse (excluding turkeys) range in length from 31 to 95 cm (12 to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), and in weight from 0.3 to 6.5 kg ( 3 ⁄ 4 to 14 + 1 ⁄ 4  lb). If they are included, wild turkey toms are

1560-513: Was put forth under the Interior Department in 2015 and set out to ban or sharply reduce oil and gas drilling in 10.7 million acres [4.3 million hectares] of its habitat. The Trump plan, by contrast, would limit the grouse’s protected habitat to just 1.8 million acres [730,000 hectares], essentially opening up 9 million acres [3.6 million hectares] of land to drilling, mining and other development. The sagehen

1600-614: Was the prehistoric predecessor to Mono Lake, during the Pleistocene . Its shoreline reached the modern-day elevation of 2,280 metres (7,480 ft), about 330 metres (1,100 ft) higher than the present-day lake. As of 1.6 million years ago, Lake Russell discharged to the northeast, into the Walker River drainage. After the Long Valley Caldera eruption 760,000 years ago, Lake Russell discharged into Adobe Lake to

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