Greater Sage-Grouse
At dawn, males turn a quiet sagebrush flat into a popping, swishing arena—a display sustained by much more habitat than the lek itself reveals.
Artwork inspired by Jack Malotte
Greater Sage-Grouse depend on sagebrush throughout the year. Adults eat its leaves, especially in winter; hens need concealed nesting cover, while young chicks initially require insects and flowering forbs. A lek is only the visible stage of a larger seasonal system, and birds may travel far between display grounds, nests, wet brood habitat, and winter range.
Before sunrise in spring, males fan pointed tails, raise white breast ruffs, and snap two yellow air sacs while females compare them. Watch only from an approved road, overlook, or blind, following local instructions about vehicles and lights. Invasive grass, frequent fire, development, fences, and fragmented wet meadows can damage the whole habitat network even when a traditional lek remains open.
- Display ground
- Lek
- Core food
- Sagebrush leaves
- Young chicks
- Forbs and insects
Quick guide
- Best window
- Pre-dawn to shortly after sunrise in spring
- Best tool
- A scope used from an established viewing place
Recognize and observe
- Listen first
- Begin with dawn popping and swishing may reveal a distant lek when identifying Greater Sage-Grouse.
- Recognize
- Look for a white ruff, black belly, spiky tail, and yellow sacs together with a scope used from an established viewing place before accepting the identification.
- Scan later
- From March through May, scan intact sagebrush basins from established viewpoints; never approach a lek to improve the view.
- Protect
- Never approach, encircle, geotag, or stay after alarm.
Good to know
Lek locations are sensitive. Use an established viewing site, keep lights low, arrive before activity, remain in the vehicle when instructed, and leave if birds flush or stop displaying.
Notice these
- Spiky fanned tail
- White male breast ruff
- Rhythmic air-sac pops