The Sharp-tailed Grouse lives in North American grasslands and shrublands. In spring, males inflate their throat sacs and stamp their feet during courtship.
It has a plump body and pointed tail. In spring, males show purple air sacs on the neck and yellow ornaments above the eyes.
Sharp-tailed Grouse inhabit North American grassland and shrub landscapes. Males gather at communal display grounds to court females. These open arenas are embedded in surrounding areas used for nesting and brood rearing.
In south-central Wyoming, researchers followed 213 radio-tagged females during 2017–2020. They evaluated habitat use and survival across nesting, brood-rearing, autumn, and winter-to-early-spring seasons, and related these patterns to 24 active lek locations.
Leks tended to occur amid more herbaceous vegetation and litter, less rugged terrain and more nesting habitat. Larger leks had more brood-rearing habitat around them. The display arena was therefore linked with seasonal settings used by females and chicks.
IUCN Red List (BirdLife listing) · Least Concern · Global
BirdLife lists Least Concern globally. The Wyoming research supports lek-centred management that also includes nearby nesting and brood habitat. Conservation can account for seasonal use of surrounding grasslands and shrub cover.