🦜 Body-popping sage grouse - Nature's Greatest Dancers
47 Video Views·Oct 9, 2023
🦜 Meet the Greater Sage-Grouse!
This fascinating, eye-catching bird lives in the sagebrush of the western United States, as well as Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. You can find them consistently in the following US states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.
They only travel about 20 miles between their summer breeding grounds and their winter habitat. Regardless of the time of year, they need to live near sagebrush for their habitat and diet. You will not track down the Greater Sage-Grouse in any area where there aren’t plenty of sagebrushes.
They weigh about 4 pounds, which is the size of most backyard hens.
the Great Plains of America,
an area covering nearly 100 million acres of grassland.
Here, a group of males are limbering up for their show.
These are sage grouse.
They already have a dapper look,
an eye-catching fan of tail feathers,
and a glamorous ruff of chest plumage.
But in this vast landscape,
there seems a distinct lack of anyone to impress.
Fortunately, these guys have the moves
to get the party started.
And these juddering moves also create a signature sound.
Sage grouse make this bizarre noise
by popping their brightly colored air sacs.
And the sound can carry as much as three kilometers,
which, considering the size of their habitat,
is just what the males need
to attract females to their display ground.
Competition between males for the best spot is fierce.
It's all about securing the most visible patch
to show off their prowess.
Females visit every day for up to a month
and will carefully judge the variety of displays
before choosing their mate.