Grouse Booboo

Correction

Doubtless the tail feathers of a strutting sage grouse look sharp. But we apologize for incorrectly identifying the bird as one of its prairie grouse cousins last Sunday.

To clear up any confusion, here’s your Outdoors & Travel photo guide to the sage grouse and the sharp-tailed grouse, the two prairie grouse species of the Inland Northwest.

The photos show male birds performing their mating dances to impress the females of their species.

The sage grouse fan their tails, inflate air sacks under the skin of their breasts as they strut in a royal manner, making a sound similar to rocks dropping into an open barrel.

The sharptails bend over, point their tail toward the sky, and run in place rapidly, making the sound of a mini-jackhammer.

Both types of grouse have specific dancing grounds - called leks - to which they return every spring about this time. The males take center stage while the females watch from a distance. Each morning, just before and just after sunrise, the males perform their displays.

The activity peaks around the first of April.

Females make themselves available to the male of their choice. After breeding, each female flies off alone to nest. The males return to the group at center stage, strutting their stuff long after the females have laid their eggs.

Destruction to the sage and grasslands these birds require, plus intrusion on their dancing grounds, are reasons they are being considered for threatened species status. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos