Editing Sharp-tailed grouse (section)

==Behavior==
[[File:Photograph of Nest and Eggs of a Sharp-Tailed Grouse - NARA - 2129299.jpg|thumb|Sharp-tailed grouse nest with eggs]]

===Feeding===
These birds forage on the ground in summer, in trees in winter. They eat seeds, buds, berries, forbs, and leaves, also [[insect]]s, especially [[grasshopper]]s, in summer. Specific species of grasshopper the sharp-tailed grouse is known to feed on are ''[[Melanoplus dawsoni]]'' and ''[[Pseudochorthippus curtipennis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meyhoff |first1=Sejer D. |last2=Johnson |first2=Daniel L. |last3=Bazinet |first3=Scott |title=Fall diet in sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi) and consumption of the grasshopper Melanoplus dawsoni in Alberta, Canada |journal=Food Webs |date=September 2020 |volume=24 |pages=e00153 |doi=10.1016/j.fooweb.2020.e00153|bibcode=2020FWebs..2400153M |s2cid=225295442 }}</ref>
[[File:Sharp-Tailed Grouse (25406967553).jpg|thumb|left|A male performing its mating display]]

===Breeding===
The sharp-tailed grouse is a lekking bird species. These birds display in open areas known as [[lek (mating arena)|lek]]s with other males, anywhere from a single male to upwards of 20 will occupy one lek (averaging 8–12). A lek is an assembly area where animals carry on display and courtship behavior. During the spring, male sharp-tailed grouse attend these leks from March through July with peak attendance in late April, early May.<ref name="Connelly-1998" /> These dates do fluctuate from year to year based on the weather. Johnsgard (2002) observed weather delayed lekking of up to two weeks by sharp-tailed grouse in North Dakota. The males display on the lek by stamping their feet rapidly, about 20 times per second, and rattle their tail feathers while turning in circles or dancing forward. Purple neck sacs are inflated and deflated during display. The males use "cooing" calls also to attract and compete for females.<ref name="Sisson">Sisson, L. 1969. Land Use Changes and Sharp-Tailed Grouse Breeding Behavior Nebraska Game and Parks Commission White Papers, Conference Presentations, & Manuscripts.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1988-12-01|title=Adaptive Strategies and Population Ecology of Northern Grouse. Arthur T. Bergerud , Michael W. Gratson|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/416091|journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology|volume=63|issue=4|pages=479|doi=10.1086/416091|issn=0033-5770|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Connelly-1998" /> The females select the most dominant one or two males in the center of the lek, copulate, and then leave to nest and raise the young in solitary from the male. Occasionally a low-ranking male may act like a female, approach the dominant male and fight him.