Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Each spring heralds a unique spectacle on the brushy western plains of North America. Year after year, male Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) congregate on ancestral display grounds known as leks. There, the males strut about, fanning spiky tail feathers and raising feathered white collars while inflating bright yellow throat sacs — all the while making a weird assortment of booming, swishing, and popping noises. Choosy female sage-grouse, the object of all this parading, look on with a critical eye.
Although male birds of other species, from the Greater Prairie-Chicken down to the Club-winged Manakin, also display on leks, the charismatic Greater Sage-Grouse is an “umbrella” species, meaning that efforts to conserve it also benefit a wide variety of other wildlife. It is one of the most prominent inhabitants of the sagebrush "sea," which encompasses millions of acres of open lands across 16 U.S. states and small portions of a few Canadian provinces. And it’s uniquely adapted to this habitat, from its diet down to the downy fluff of sage-grouse chicks.
But the sagebrush “sea” is contested land, and the Greater Sage-Grouse’s foothold there has loosened. Over time, its habitat — among the most endangered in North America — has been lost to fossil fuel development, persistent grazing pressure, and introduced invasive grasses. Where 16 million Greater Sage-Grouse once strutted, now a severely reduced population, bellwethers for an entire, fragile ecosystem, hangs on.
Also known as: Sagehen, Sage Chicken, Thunder Chicken, Bomber
Read more about the Greater Sage-Grouse: abcbirds.org/birds/greater-sage-grouse
Each spring heralds a unique spectacle on the brushy western plains of North America. Year after year, male Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) congregate on ancestral display grounds known as leks. There, the males strut about, fanning spiky tail feathers and raising feathered white collars while inflating bright yellow throat sacs — all the while making a weird assortment of booming, swishing, and popping noises. Choosy female sage-grouse, the object of all this parading, look on with a critical eye.
Although male birds of other species, from the Greater Prairie-Chicken down to the Club-winged Manakin, also display on leks, the charismatic Greater Sage-Grouse is an “umbrella” species, meaning that efforts to conserve it also benefit a wide variety of other wildlife. It is one of the most prominent inhabitants of the sagebrush "sea," which encompasses millions of acres of open lands across 16 U.S. states and small portions of a few Canadian provinces. And it’s uniquely adapted to this habitat, from its diet down to the downy fluff of sage-grouse chicks.
But the sagebrush “sea” is contested land, and the Greater Sage-Grouse’s foothold there has loosened. Over time, its habitat — among the most endangered in North America — has been lost to fossil fuel development, persistent grazing pressure, and introduced invasive grasses. Where 16 million Greater Sage-Grouse once strutted, now a severely reduced population, bellwethers for an entire, fragile ecosystem, hangs on.
Also known as: Sagehen, Sage Chicken, Thunder Chicken, Bomber
Read more about the Greater Sage-Grouse: abcbirds.org/birds/greater-sage-grouse
