Sharp-tailed grouse
A prairie grouse that dances on open ground at dawn, stamping its feet and inflating purple air sacs on its neck to attract a mate.
Sharp-tailed grouse at a glance
Tympanuchus phasianellus SHARP-tailed grows; Tympanuchus phasianellus is tim-puh-NOO-kus fay-zee-uh-NELL-us
- Type
- Bird · grouse
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Size
- About 15 to 20 inches long, close to the length of a loaf of French bread, weighing 2 to 3 pounds.
- Lifespan
- Maximum recorded lifespan is about 7.5 years.
- Conservation
- Least concern
Eats leaves, seeds, berries, grasshoppers, buds
It forages on the ground for grass, flowers, and insects (especially grasshoppers) in spring and summer, switches to seeds and berries in fall, and climbs into trees and shrubs to eat buds and catkins once snow covers the ground.
Should you worry?
Sharp-tailed grouse are not dangerous. They startle easily and burst into flight when approached, so give a dancing ground plenty of room and watch from a distance.
At first light on a stretch of Dakota prairie, a male sharp-tailed grouse starts stamping his feet so fast they blur, tail cocked straight up, head down, spinning in a tight circle like he is dancing on a hot griddle.
Purple air sacs on either side of his neck inflate with each turn, letting out a low coo that carries across the open ground, all of it aimed at the females standing at the edge of the same dancing ground, called a lek, deciding which male’s routine is worth mating over.
The same bird needs two completely different landscapes to survive the year: open, short grass for the lek in spring, and brushy stream corridors in winter, where it climbs into shrubs to eat buds once the ground disappears under snow. At Glacier, where that second habitat barely exists, the park’s own bird checklist marks the species rare, and only on the east side of the mountains.
Did you know?
- A male sharp-tailed grouse stamps its feet so quickly during its dawn dance that the motion blurs, while purple air sacs on its neck inflate and deflate with a cooing sound.
- In winter, when the ground is buried in snow, sharp-tailed grouse climb into trees and shrubs to eat buds and catkins instead of foraging on the ground.
- At Glacier National Park, sharp-tailed grouse are found only east of the Continental Divide and are marked rare there, one of the park's toughest birds to spot.
Common questions
What does a sharp-tailed grouse dance look like?
Males stamp their feet so fast it blurs, lower their heads, raise their tails, and inflate purple air sacs on their neck while cooing, all to attract females at dawn.
What do sharp-tailed grouse eat in winter?
They climb into trees and shrubs and eat buds and catkins once the ground is covered in snow.
Are sharp-tailed grouse easy to see at Glacier National Park?
No. The park's own checklist marks them rare, and they are found only on the east side of the Continental Divide.
How big is a sharp-tailed grouse?
About 15 to 20 inches long and 2 to 3 pounds, close to the size of a loaf of French bread.
What eats a sharp-tailed grouse?
Predators are its leading cause of death. Hawks, falcons, eagles, owls, coyotes, foxes, mink, and weasels all hunt it, most often at the crowded leks in spring.