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EXPLORE > ANIMALS > BIRDS
Centrocercus urophasianus
As with many bird species, the male has the more striking plumage, an adaptation that aids in courtship and mating. Their round bodies are covered down to their feet with gray-brown feathers. The breast is white. Males have yellow eye patches and yellow sacs on either side of the throat which are inflated to attract a mate during breeding season. The female has duller coloring which help camouflage them while they are tending to their nests. Adult females are a mottled gray with a brown throat and dark belly. Adult males can grow up to 30 inches (76 cm) in length and weigh a maximum of 4 pounds (1.8 kg). Both males and females have long, pointed tail feathers which are often held erect.
The bird forages mostly on the ground with a diet consisting largely of big sagebrush and insects. The dense ground cover of big sagebrush also provides the sage-grouse with protection from the heat and predators such as the coyote, bobcat, peregrine falcon and golden eagle.
These birds belong to the same biological family as quail, pheasants, turkeys and chickens. These types of birds are generally known as fowl, gamefowl or gamebirds and may be widely hunted by people.
Range and Habitat
As its name suggests, this bird is found in sagebrush country throughout the United States and southern Canada. They can be found in the arid and desert regions of southeastern Oregon where big sagebrush is common.
Conservation Status
The greater sage-grouse is listed as “near threatened” throughout most of its range due to decreasing numbers and loss of habitat. As of 2013, the sage-grouse was been declared extinct in five U.S. states where it historically lived.
Centrocercus urophasianus
As with many bird species, the male has the more striking plumage, an adaptation that aids in courtship and mating. Their round bodies are covered down to their feet with gray-brown feathers. The breast is white. Males have yellow eye patches and yellow sacs on either side of the throat which are inflated to attract a mate during breeding season. The female has duller coloring which help camouflage them while they are tending to their nests. Adult females are a mottled gray with a brown throat and dark belly. Adult males can grow up to 30 inches (76 cm) in length and weigh a maximum of 4 pounds (1.8 kg). Both males and females have long, pointed tail feathers which are often held erect.
The bird forages mostly on the ground with a diet consisting largely of big sagebrush and insects. The dense ground cover of big sagebrush also provides the sage-grouse with protection from the heat and predators such as the coyote, bobcat, peregrine falcon and golden eagle.
These birds belong to the same biological family as quail, pheasants, turkeys and chickens. These types of birds are generally known as fowl, gamefowl or gamebirds and may be widely hunted by people.
Range and Habitat
As its name suggests, this bird is found in sagebrush country throughout the United States and southern Canada. They can be found in the arid and desert regions of southeastern Oregon where big sagebrush is common.
Conservation Status
The greater sage-grouse is listed as “near threatened” throughout most of its range due to decreasing numbers and loss of habitat. As of 2013, the sage-grouse was been declared extinct in five U.S. states where it historically lived.
