Editing Sharp-tailed grouse (section)

===Nesting habitat===
Nesting cover is one of the most important habitat types needed by sharp-tailed grouse hens. Nesting habitat varies widely among the different subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse.<ref name="Roersma" /> Hamerstrom Jr. (1939) found the majority of prairie sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. campestris'') nests occupied dense brush and woods at marsh edges. Gieson and Connelly (1993) reported that Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. columbianus'') selected for dense shrub stands with taller, denser shrubs located at the nest site. Plains sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. jamesii'') selected nest sites with dense residual vegetation and a shrubby component.<ref name="Roersma" />  However, nest sites are usually characterized by dense tall residual vegetation (last year’s growth) with the presence of woody vegetation either at the nest site or nearby.<ref name="Manske" /><ref>Prose, B.L., B.S. Cade, and D. Hein. 2002. Selection of nesting habitat by sharp-tailed grouse in the Nebraska sandhills. Prairie Naturalist. 34(3/4):85-105.</ref> Goddard et al. (2009) state that the use of shrub dominated habitats has not been documented by many other researchers. Goddard et al. (2009) found that sharp-tailed grouse hens in Alberta, Canada selected more for shrub steppe habitats in their first nest attempts because of increased concealment provided by the shrubs than the residual grass earlier in the breeding season. Roersma (2001) also found that grouse in southern Alberta selected taller, woody vegetation compared to all other habitats assessed, and grouse used this area in greater proportions to available woody habitat. These findings contradict Prose et al. (2002), who states that residual vegetation is critical to sharp-tailed grouse nest success due to the early seasonal nesting nature of the grouse.