Distinguishing Features
This is a medium-sized grouse with
a short pointed tail and distinct v-shaped marks on its under sides.
Back is tawny brown and heavily barred with darker browns. Pointed
white-sided tail distinguishes it from most other grouses. Total
length 41 - 47 cm (Godfrey, 1986).
Distribution
Columbia Basin: Marginal distribution
in the southern grasslands of the Columbia Basin. Possibly extirpated.
British Columbia: Locally and often
marginally distributed in the grasslands of the Southern Rocky Mountain
Trench (virtually extirpated), Bulkley Basin (range greatly contracted),
Thompson Uplands, Thompson Basin, and Nechako Lowland. Widespread
in the Chilcotin Plateau, Cariboo Basin, and Fraser River Basin.
Okanagan populations are considered extirpated (Cannings et al.
In prep.).
Global: Resident from nc.
British Columbia east of the Rocky Mountains, and w. Montana south
to e. Oregon, ne. Nevada, n. Utah, w. Colorado and n. New Mexico
(Cannings, 1998).
Habitat
In British Columbia, Sharp-tailed
Grouse - columbianus subspecies are associated with two types
of shrub-steppe plant communities: climax bunchgrass grasslands
in the southern parts of their range, and seral grasslands that
result from fire or logging in the north. Winter habitats are typically
associated with deciduous riparian cover types (Cannings et al.
In prep.).
Threats
The distribution of this subspecies
in British Columbia has contracted over the past 50 years. Sharp-tailed
Grouse are now extirpated from the Okanagan and Bulkley valleys
and are virtually extirpated from the southern Rocky Mountain Trench
(Cannings et al. 1987). Remaining bunchgrass grassland populations
continue to decline, and now constitute a small proportion of the
total population in British Columbia. The larger northern populations
are increasing at least temporarily in clear-cut habitats (Cannings
et al. In prep.).
In the northern part of the range,
Sharp-tailed Grouse and their clear-cut habitats are not threatened
and these birds are legally hunted. Threats are much more extreme
in the southern part of the range. Grassland and riparian woodland
habitats have been lost to urban and agricultural development. Livestock
over-grazing creates loss of nesting cover, and small remnant populations
are susceptible to over-hunting and accidental killing. Cattle in
riparian zones can impact shrubs, a source of food for Sharp-tailed
grouse during winter (Cannings et al. In prep.).
Biology
Lek sites or "dancing"
grounds, where males perform courtship displays, are generally located
on open, dry, elevated sites, and males show a strong fidelity to
the same lek or lek complex throughout the year. After mating ends
in June, females move to nesting areas with a relatively dense cover
of shrubs and grasses. A nest of loosely formed grasses is made
in a shallow depression on the ground, well concealed in clumps
of grass or under branches (Cannings et al. In prep.).
From spring to fall, Sharp-tailed Grouse typically
remain near lek sites. Adult diets in spring and summer include
a variety of forbs, grasses, and insects. Winter foods consist of
the buds and catkins of deciduous trees or shrubs, and berries.
Riparian stands of scrub birch and water birch are particularly
important in British Columbia, although birds are also known to
feed on the buds of aspen and willow. Clutches as high as 13 eggs
have been recorded in British Columbia, but 9 - 12 is the most common.
The incubation period lasts 23 - 24 days. The young are capable
of walking within hours of hatching. (Cannings et al. In prep.).
