Visual Search | Wizard | Browse
Bird name:
Home| Search| Browser| Expert| Forum| Store| My WhatBird| Help| Site Map

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Tympanuchus phasianellusOrder: GALLIFORMES Family: Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)
Codes: Common Name: STGR Scientific Name: TYMPHA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175841
Least Concern
 
Sharp-tailed Grouse Breeding Male
Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Whatbird.com






Rate this Illustration: Excellent Very Good Good
Fair Below Avg Poor

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Sharp-tailed Grouse: Medium grouse with lightly barred brown upperparts and white underparts dotted with chevrons. Head has short crest, yellow-orange eye comb, and pink or violet neck patch exposed when displaying. Tail is pointed and white-edged. Often seen on prairies in the summer.

Range and Habitat

Sharp-tailed Grouse: Resident from Alaska east to Hudson Bay and south to Utah, northeastern New Mexico, and Michigan. Found in brushlands, grasslands, sagebrush, woodland edges, brushy prairies, cleared farmlands, bogs, river canyons, and boreal forest edges.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"coo-oo"

Interesting Facts

 The Sharp-tailed Grouse inhabits open areas that are too brushy for prairie chickens, but too open for ruffed grouse. That’s why its called the "in between bird."

 First Nations people call it the "fire bird" because their habitat was kept open by fires that killed trees and shrubs.

 This is the provincial bird of Saskatchewan.

 A group of grouse has many collective nouns, including a "chorus", "covey", "drumming", "grumbling", and "leash" of grouse.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

Splitbar
Range Map for Sharp-tailed Grouse

.
Family Grouse (Phasianidae)_blue
Species Tympanuchus phasianellus
Length16 - 19 Inches
Wingspan23 Inches

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Sharp-tailed Grouse: Medium grouse with lightly barred brown upperparts and white underparts dotted with chevrons. Head has short crest, yellow-orange eye comb, and pink or violet neck patch exposed when displaying. Tail is pointed and white-edged. Often seen on prairies in the summer.

● Song: "coo-oo"

● Foraging & Feeding: Sharp-tailed Grouse: Feeds on forbs, grass, and insects. In winter, eats berries, buds, and catkins of deciduous trees and shrubs.

● Breeding & nesting: Sharp-tailed Grouse: Five to seventeen light brown eggs spotted with red-brown and lavender are laid in a ground depression lined with grass, leaves, and feathers. Incubation ranges from 21 to 24 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Sharp-tailed Grouse: Greater Prairie Chicken has barred underparts and shorter, squared tail.

Flight Pattern

Rises on rapidly beating wings when flushed., Alternates between series of rapid stiff wing beats and glides on slightly drooping wings.
Sharp-tailed Grouse Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Sharp-tailed Grouse: Resident from Alaska east to Hudson Bay and south to Utah, northeastern New Mexico, and Michigan. Found in brushlands, grasslands, sagebrush, woodland edges, brushy prairies, cleared farmlands, bogs, river canyons, and boreal forest edges.
BreedingPromiscuous
PopulationUncommon to fairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight33.6 Ounces
Perching-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
CombX
Only found in male birds and consists of a colored area over the eye. A well developed comb can also signal (sexual) health to a potential mate.

CrestX
Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.
Neck patchX
A sac located on the neck that is inflatable and is only visible in males during courtship displays.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Read more...
ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

Read more...
Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX