What is a sage-grouse Lek?
The greater sage-grouse is the largest species of grouse in North America. Each spring, male sage-grouse perform an elaborate sunrise display on communal breeding grounds known as “leks”. While sage-grouse require sagebrush landscapes to survive, leks are often located in open areas where the males can be better seen and heard by females.
Where do sage grouse go to show off?
Sage grouse males show off for a female at sunrise on a lek. What the heck is a lek? A lek is the name of an area where sage-grouse congregate in the spring. The males choose an area where their courtship display can be easily seen by females.
What is the lifespan of a sage grouse?
Other Names. Sage-grouse have a specialized stomach that digests the tough sage-brush, their main food. Greater Sage-Grouse can live up to 9 years in the wild, but more often 3–6 years. Females tend to be longer-lived, due to high predation of males on leks.
How do sage grouse raise their babies?
Like many other grouse species, the Greater Sage-Grouse male plays no role in the raising of the young. Males display on dancing grounds known as leks. Females visit the leks to obtain matings, and then go off to raise their brood by themselves. Traditional lekking grounds may be used for years.
Where can I find sage grouse lek?
The best way to see Greater Sage-Grouse is to visit a lek before dawn during the late winter and early spring (March to May). Leks can be very sensitive to disturbance, and some leks are closed to the public. Others are well prepared for public viewing and may feature viewing blinds or guided tours.
What is a group of sage grouse called?
Traditional lekking grounds may be used for years. Although many males may display at a lek, only one or two males get picked by a majority of the females for mating. A group of grouse has many collective nouns, including a "chorus", "covey", "drumming", "grumbling", and "leash" of grouse.
What is a black grouse lek?
One of the most incredible wildlife spectacles of the year is the annual Black Grouse Lek, when these birds strut and display their feathers during their annual courting ritual. The event takes place between March and April and you can see it in the Yorkshire Dales.
Why do birds lek?
A lek is an aggregation of males that gather to engage in competitive displays that may entice visiting females who are surveying prospective partners for copulation (Fiske, P., Rintamaki, P. T. & Karvonen, E. Mating success in lekking males: a meta-analysis. Behavioral Ecology 9, 328–338, 1998).
Do people eat sage-grouse?
Young sage grouse are excellent eating and are considered a prized game bird by those who hunt them.
What birds puff up their chests?
The Sage Grouse is best known for the spectacular courtship displays of the males: Large numbers (up to 70 or more) will gather in spring on traditional dancing grounds and strut with their chests puffed out and spiky tails spread, hoping to attract females.
What time of day do black grouse lek?
Between the months of March and June (usually April and May) at dawn and also in the autumn, male black grouse gather together on a daily basis, occupying their own little piece of territory in a makeshift arena.
What do black grouse compete for?
The cocks compete with each other for best display sites within the lek, with dominant individuals occupying central sites. The bubbling calls and the posturing of the cocks attract hens, who choose their mate. The dominant males in the central part of the lek obtain most of the copulations.
How many eggs do grouse lay?
9-14 eggsNesting FactsClutch Size:9-14 eggsEgg Length:1.5-1.6 in (3.78-4.14 cm)Egg Width:1.1-1.2 in (2.9-3 cm)Incubation Period:23-24 daysEgg Description:Eggs are milky to cinnamon buff sometimes spotted with reddish or brown.1 more row
What does lek mean in slang?
The definition of a lek is money in Albania, or a place where male animals perform mating rituals. An example of a lek is how people pay for food in Albania.
What is a lek How is it beneficial?
A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate.
What animal is a lek?
… antelopes are known to form leks: the kob and the lechwe.) As many as 100 males may crowd together in an arena, where the central males may be only 25 metres (80 feet) apart. A few of them monopolize matings with the females, which come specifically to mate and are…
How many sage-grouse are there?
between 200,000 and 400,000The total population of greater sage-grouse is estimated between 200,000 and 400,000, while there are less than 5,000 Gunnison sage-grouse remaining.
Are sage-grouse rare?
Historical population is estimated to have been in the millions; its current population is estimated between 250,000 and 500,000. Audubon's WatchList categorizes the species as "Yellow" - indicating that it is rare or declining.
Why does sage-grouse not have gizzards?
Unlike its relatives, sage-grouse have a thin-walled, non-muscular gizzard that reflects its dietary dependence on soft sagebrush leaves.
What is the lifespan of a grouse?
LIFE CYCLE: Greater sage grouse generally live from 1 to 1.5 years, but some have been known to live up to 10 years in the wild.
What is Sage Grouse?
The Sage Grouse Initiative is a partnership-based, science-driven effort that uses voluntary incentives to proactively conserve America’s western rangelands, wildlife, and rural way of life. This initiative is part of Working Lands For Wildlife, which is led by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. —. Archives.
How Do Sage Grouse Mate?
Photo by Scott Copeland. Sage grouse males show off for a female at sunrise on a lek.
What is a lek?
What the heck is a lek? A lek is the name of an area where sage-grouse congregate in the spring. The males choose an area where their courtship display can be easily seen by females. That’s why leks are usually found where there is less vegetation.
What is the importance of protecting the habitat of Sage Grouse?
Safeguarding the most important habitat is essential to the long-term health of sage-grouse populations and is a key feature of the 2015 management plans. A new round of planning will determine what we can do now to improve outcomes for sage-grouse going forward, taking account of new science and effects of climate change and drought.
Why is the Sage Grouse not listed on the endangered species list?
In 2015, the FWS found that listing the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act was “not warranted” because the primary threats to the species had been ameliorated by conservation efforts implemented by federal, state, and private landowners. Those efforts included measures intended to conserve, enhance, and restore the sagebrush ecosystem across the West adopted by the U.S. Forest Service and the BLM in their land management plans, including a recommendation to withdraw Sagebrush Focal Areas, which are areas considered essential for the long-term health of the sage grouse, from mineral location and entry.
What are the roles of federal agencies in the Sagebrush ecosystem?
For decades, federal, state and private land managers have worked to conserve and restore the sagebrush ecosystem, with federal agencies managing habitat on the lands whose surface they administer and states managing and monitoring wildlife populations.
How many acres are Sage Steppe?
The BLM manages the largest share of sage-steppe - 68 million acres - as habitat for Greater sage-grouse under resource management plans adopted in 2015 to stem habitat loss and population declines. Monitoring data and the findings of new science show that in the intervening years, sage-grouse populations have continued to decline in some areas and that various factors - including the effects of climate change - have hindered habitat conservation and restoration.
Is the SFA withdrawal needed for sage grouse?
In February 2021, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the BLM to continue considering whether SFA withdrawal is needed for sage-grouse conservation and to re-initiate the NEPA process; the Bureau re-started this process in August 2021 .
What is Sage Grouse's main food?
Sage-grouse have a specialized stomach that digests the tough sage-brush, their main food.
What do sage grouse eat?
Traditional lekking grounds may be used for years. Sage-grouse have a specialized stomach that digests the tough sage-brush, their main food.
How do Sage Grouse gain weight?
Over the harsh winter, sage-grouse actually manage to gain weight and strength in preparation for the breeding season by feeding on the leaves of sagebrush. They get water from feeding on snow. In preparation for a strutting display, male Greater Sage-Grouse can gulp and hold a gallon of air in a pouch of their esophagus.
What do sagebrush birds do in spring?
Dozens of male Greater Sage-Grouse puff their chests and fan their starburst tails like avant-garde turkeys. They inflate bulbous yellow air sacs and thrust with their heads to produce weird pops and whistles. The rest of the year these birds melt away into the great sagebrush plains that are their only home. Habitat fragmentation and development have caused severe declines for this spectacular bird.
When to see sage grouse?
The best way to see Greater Sage-Grouse is to visit a lek before dawn during the late winter and early spring (March to May). Leks can be very sensitive to disturbance, and some leks are closed to the public. Others are well prepared for public viewing and may feature viewing blinds or guided tours. The Sage Grouse Initiative has a page including directions and guidelines for minimizing disturbance while viewing sage-grouse leks.
Can a Sage Grouse be picked at a lek?
Although many male Greater Sage-Grouse may display at a lek, only one or two males get picked by a majority of the females for mating.
Greater Sage-Grouse mate on leks
Male Greater Sage-Grouse gather on open areas called leks to strut, dance, and sound off. They raise and fan their spiky tails, show off magnificent white ruffs, inflate bright yellow throat sacs, and make a sequence of distinct sounds, ending with a popping sound as they rapidly deflate their throat sacs, which can hold up to a liter of air.
An Aldo Leopold morning
I would describe my lek experience early Saturday as an “Aldo Leopold morning.”
2015: a vulnerable victory
In 2015, after much study, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to list the Greater Sage-Grouse under the Endangered Species Act.
What is a Sage Grouse?
The Greater Sage-Grouse is a large grouse with a chubby, round body, small head, and long tail. Males change shape dramatically when they display, becoming almost spherical as they puff up their chest, droop their wings, and fan their tail into a starburst. Larger than a Ring-necked Pheasant; smaller than a Wild Turkey.
Where do Sage Grouse live?
Sage-grouse are emblematic of the sagebrush steppe of the intermountain West, which is their only habitat. They are widespread across the sagebrush plains but are sensitive to disturbance. In early spring they gather on patches of open ground known as leks, where males display to females.
Why do male leks lunge forward?
Displaying males lunge forward to push air in and out of the yellow air sacs in their chest, making a quiet gurgling or popping sound. They vigorously defend the small display territories on their leks. They often display even when there are no females around.
What is a large chubby grouse?
Large chubby grouse with a small head and long tail. Speckled brown and gray above. Males have a white breast, a black belly, and a black throat.
When do grouse display?
Males also inflate 2 yellow air sacs like round balloons while displaying. Displays begin in late winter or early spring, often when there is still snow on the ground.
What is the habitat of Sage Grouse?
Females gather to evaluate the males and choose which ones to mate with. This opens in a new window. Sage-grouse are emblematic of the sagebrush steppe of the intermountain West, which is their only habitat. They are widespread across the sagebrush plains but are sensitive to disturbance.
When do Sage Grouse strut?
Behavior. For most of the year sage-grouse are inconspicuous, browsing on sagebrush and other plants at ground level. In March to May, males perform elaborate strutting displays on patches of bare ground called leks. Females gather to evaluate the males and choose which ones to mate with.
What bird parades their plumage and booming air sacs on a lek?
Greater Sage-Grouse parade their plumage and booming air sacs on a lek. Video: K. Theule/USFWS /Flickr CC (BY 2.0)
What is a lekking parrot?
The males are lekking—dancing and singing their way to an invitation to mate. Halfway around the world, Kakapos—flightless parrots with whiskery sideburns—spend their nights singing. About the size of a housecat, a male Kakapo’s whole body pulses with each tuneless boom of white noise. That’s lekking, too.
What do white bearded manakins do?
When they're feeling lekky, White-bearded Manakins gather in groups to snap, crackle, and pop their feathers. Photo: National Geographic Creative/Alamy
What songbirds lek?
But for these tiny black-and-white songbirds, the go-to move is part dance, part drumroll: They snap, crackle, and pop special feathers on their wings to call females to a cleared forest courtyard.
What do you need to make a lek?
But there are three key ingredients in any lek. First, you need a bunch of birds. Typically, males gather to put on an impressive show to attract a mate, and females wander by to check out their options.
What is the pledge to stand with Audubon?
Pledge to stand with Audubon to call on elected officials to listen to science and work towards climate solutions.
Do leks live in fish?
You might notice that birds aren’t part of that definition and, indeed, leks also occur among fish, insects, and even some mammals. The casual observer may not spot these leks, since they sometimes rely on scent chemicals, for example, as in some species of fly.
