Montana Field Guide

Sharp-tailed Grouse (Columbian) - Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus

Sexes are similar, although males have inconspicuous yellow eye combs and pale violet air sacs on the neck. Both sexes have feathered legs and upper parts mottled with white, buff, brown, and black. The wings have conspicuous white spots, and the breast and flanks have V-shaped brown markings on a snow-white background. Adult males and females average from 16.5-18.5 inches in length; adult males average 33 ounces and adult females 29 ounces in weight. The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, which was historically distributed west of the Continental Divide, is the smallest subspecies and tends to have grayer plumage, more pronounced spotting on the throat, and narrower markings on the underparts (Hoffman and Thomas 2007).

Female pheasants, especially in the early fall, can be confused with Sharp-tailed Grouse. Sharp-tailed Grouse, however, have much shorter tails, feathered legs, and white bellies (female pheasants are mottled brown throughout).

Montana Range

Historically moved to breeding grounds in mid-March to mid-April, nested from mid-May to mid-June, reared broods from June to September, and moved to wintering areas from mid-October to mid-December (Hoffman and Thomas 2007).

Until recently, Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse in Montana were found in larger mountain valleys with extensive native bunchgrass-shrub stands. However, they have now apparently been extirpated, or nearly extirpated, from their historic range west of the Continental Divide in Montana (Hoffman and Thomas 2007).

In western Montana, housing developments and agriculture have eliminated large portions of habitat required for shelter, protection from predators, night roosting and spring nesting; dense trees and shrubs are needed for food, rest, escape, cover, and winter survival.

Nesting occurs from mid-May to mid-June (Davis 1961). The number of birds seen on dancing grounds in the Tobacco Plains near Eureka has varied from a high of 33 (1971) to a low of 4 in 1988. During 1990 and 1991, birds were supplemented with a transplant from British Columbia and reached a population of nearly 30 in 1991 (Cope 1992, Bown 1980).