63: Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse
I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. Before we start with today’s animal, I want to emphasize that biological classification as understood by western society has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.
Sorry for the long absence, friends – I am finding it hard to deal with screen time after I am done with work for the day when all I do is sit in my house and stare at my screen. The solution is obviously to just work on this newsletter during working hours 😊.
Today’s animal is the Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus), the smallest species of sharp-tailed grouse, which inhabits the western USA and British Columbia, and lives in Colorado on the western side of the Continental Divide. They live in the sagebrush zones that cover so much of that region as well as in riparian areas. The Lewis and Clark Expedition gave them their European-style scientific names, or, more specifically, George Ord did. Ord lived in Philadelphia all his life and did not venture west himself, but relied on specimens collected during the L&C Expedition to describe not only this bird, but also the pronghorn, grizzly bear, and black-tailed prairie dog.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a nice video about this bird here. The video showcases their delightful sounds as well as some delightful use of word art by whoever put it together.
Colorado is the southern part of the birds’ range, which extends up into Canada. As a result, they often experience snow and are known to burrow into snowdrifts to stay warm. They forage on the ground in the summer, but shift their foraging into trees and shrubs during the winter because of snow cover. They eat seeds, buds, and leaves, although they will eat grasshoppers in the summer – mainly the young birds, perhaps trying out a potential food and finding that it doesn’t taste very good.
This type of bird, and many similar ones, engage in a practice called lekking, where a group of males forms a group – known as a lek – to show off their brilliant feather displays and perform elaborate dances for the plainer-feathered ladies.
These birds once lived across the great “Sagebrush Sea” of the western United States but today are in scattered, disconnected populations in most states because of destruction of habitat. In northwestern Colorado, where the most robust populations are, oil and gas exploration and mining remain serious threats to the species, who is not currently classified as endangered.
They are also very pretty: