Species: Centrocercus urophasianus

Greater Sage-Grouse

Species

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

This is a very large grayish grouse with a blackish belly and long pointed tail feathers; male has yellow eye combs, black throat and bib, large white ruff on breast, and averages larger than the female (NGS 1983).

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Galliformes

Family

Phasianidae

Genus

Centrocercus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105314

Classification

Other Global Common Names

tétras des armoises

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Galliformes - Phasianidae - Centrocercus - Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment: USFWS (2003) found that the discrete population segment of greater sage-grouse that remains in Washington is significant to the remainder of the taxon and thus represents a distinct population segment. The significance of this population segment is primarily due to its persistence in the unique ecological setting of the Columbia Basin. In addition, the available genetic and morphological information on greater sage-grouse, while inconclusive, indicates that this population segment may be differentiating from the remainder of the taxon, and its extirpation could preclude further scientific inquiry into these characteristics. Finally, information concerning the historic and current distribution of greater sage-grouse indicates that the loss of the Columbia Basin population segment would represent a significant gap in the historical range of the taxon.

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A large bird (grouse).

Migration

true - true - false - Median dispersal distance from natal area to breeding area was about 7-9 kilometers in Colorado; probably over half of all yearling grouse attended natal-area lek (Dunn and Braun 1985). Sage-grouse moved average of 10-15 kilometers (up to 82 kilometers) between summer and winter ranges in Idaho. Over the year, individuals in migratory populations may cover home ranges that exceed 1,500 square kilometers; size of home ranges vary greatly with migratory habit and season (Connelly et al. 2000). Distances between nest sites and nearest leks average 1.1 to 6.2 kilometers, but females may move more than 20 kilometers from a lek to nest (Connelly et al. 2000). In Colorado, sage-grouse generally stayed within 6 kilometers of their lek (Schoenberg 1982).

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Sagebrush provide most of the winter diet. At other times of the year sage-grouse feed on sagebrush as well as the leaves, flowers, and buds of associated plants. They also eat insects (e.g., ants, beetles, grasshoppers; Terres 1980). Insects are especially important in the diet of newly hatched broods. In southeastern Oregon, chicks ate primarily forbs and insects at one site, but mostly sagebrush at another site (Drut et al. 1994b). Over the fall, birds shift from consuming large amounts of forbs to eating mostly sagebrush (Wallestad 1975). See Schroeder et al. (1999) for greater detail on diet and food selection.

Reproduction Comments

This species is a lek breeder; up to 400 males may display in an area 0.8 kilometers long. Clutch size averages around seven to eight but is highly variable; variation may reflect habitat quality and nutritional condition of female (Connelly et al. 2000). Incubation, by the female, lasts 25-27 days. Young are precocial, downy, tended by female, fly when 7-14 days old. Productivity generally is low; reported nest failure 36 percent (Montana) to 76 percent (Oregon) (see Gregg et al. 1993). Renesting rates after nest loss are variable, from less than 10 percent to more than 40 percent (Connelly et al. 2000). Females are sexually mature in 1 year, though some or many yearlings may not nest. Most sage-grouse live 3-6 years or less, but individuals up to 9 years of age have been recorded in the wild (Connelly et al. 2004).

Ecology Comments

Males and females gather into separate flocks in winter, as do broodless hens in early summer.

Length

Weight

3190

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

G3G4

Global Status Last Reviewed

2010-09-24

Global Status Last Changed

2010-09-24

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - This species is resident locally from central Washington, southern Idaho, Montana, southeastern Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan, southwestern North Dakota, and western South Dakota south to east-central California, south-central Nevada, southern Utah, and northwestern Colorado; extirpated from historical range in southern British Columbia, western Nebraska, and possibly northern Arizona (USFWS 2010). Current distribution is estimated at 668,412 sq km or 56 percent of the potential pre-settlement distribution (see USFWS 2010). Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment: The historical distribution of greater sage grouse populations within the Columbia Basin (i.e., the northwestern portion of the species' range) extended from northern Oregon throughout eastern Washington and into extreme south-central British Columbia (USFWS 2003). Currently, all (or very nearly all) of the greater sage-grouse in Oregon occur outside of the Columbia Basin (WDFW 2000) and are not part of this DPS. Historically, greater sage-grouse in Washington ranged from Oroville in the north, west along the Cascade foothills, east to the Spokane River, and south to the Oregon border (Yocom 1956). Currently, greater sage grouse occupy two relatively small areas within the Columbia Basin in central Washington (USFWS 2003).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105314