Greater Sage-Grouse
Centrocercus urophasianus
Large turkeylike bird found in extensive areas of sagebrush. Both sexes gray overall with very fine patterning, black belly, and long pointed tail. Males have a white breast and a black throat. Spectacular male display involves fanning tail, inflating yellow air sacs on chest, and thrusting them forward to produce liquid popping noises. Most easily seen at display sites in early spring; can be very inconspicuous at other times of year. Population in severe decline due to habitat destruction. Extremely similar to the much rarer and more local Gunnison Sage-Grouse, but Greater is larger and no range overlap. Also note darker tail and shorter wispier head plumes on Greater when displaying.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Centrocercus urophasianus
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1827)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Centrocercus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
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 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.<p>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 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.<p>The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of 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 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.<p>GPS trackers show that sage grouse congregate in small areas with certain resources, rather than being widely spread.<p>US federal conservation plans have been met with lawsuits from wildlife organizations.<p>On December 6, 2018, according to the New York Times:<p>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.<p>The earlier proposal to protect the bird, whose waning numbers have brought it close to endangerment, 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.<p>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.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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