Hybrid Sage Grouse/Sharp-tailed Grouse

Note: The video above shows a sage grouse male displaying in the first part of the video. Next, a displaying sharp-tailed grouse is shown. Last, a sage/sharp-tailed grouse hybrid is shown displaying.

While rare hybrids in North Dakota sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse occasionally occur. 

Typically sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse establish individual courtship areas, or leks, during the spring breeding season. These leks may be in close proximity, but rarely are the two species found on the same lek.

In recent years the discovery of mixed leks has been more common as the sage grouse population in North Dakota has declined to a historic low. The prevalence of this occurring in North Dakota is unknown, but as the density of sage grouse decreases the chances of finding mixed leks increases.

Sharp-tailed grouse are found in every county in North Dakota, whereas sage grouse only occur in Bowman, Slope and Golden Valley counties in the southwestern part of the state. The first documented sage-sharptail hybrid was discovered in 1969 in Montana. During a routine hunter check station near Lewistown, Montana, game wardens checked a hunter with three grouse. One was a sage grouse and the other two had characteristics of both sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse. Further examination discovered that both were male hybrids and were likely hatched from a female sage grouse as they were harvested in the same brood covey.

In 1983 another hybrid was discovered, but this time in North Dakota. Game and Fish Department biologists observed a hybrid displaying with 24 male sage grouse in Slope County. The bird was collected and external measurements indicated the bird was approximately 47 percent larger than an average male sharptail and 30 percent smaller than an average male sage grouse. This was only the second documented hybrid discovered in North America. The specimen was given to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. for display.

The next documented hybrids occurred in Alberta, Canada in 1999 and 2000. Both birds were trapped and blood and feathers were collected for genetic analysis. Results indicated that both were male hybrids that had maternal sage grouse genes, indicating that a male sharp-tailed grouse bred a female sage grouse. In terms of biology this makes sense because the density of sage grouse in Alberta is low and sharp-tailed grouse are relatively abundant. Additionally, male sharp-tailed grouse are aggressive and are more likely to breed with other species.

There have been other anecdotal records of hybrids including birds found on sharptailed grouse leks in Wyoming, Saskatchewan and most recently in South Dakota. Additionally, a female sage grouse was discovered on a sharp-tailed grouse lek in North Dakota in 2014. The prevalence of this occurring more frequently suggests that female sage grouse are not able to find males of their species to breed with, resulting in more hybrids. Sage grouse populations across their range have decreased by 45-80 percent since the early 1950s. In North Dakota the decline has been much more drastic. From the early 1960s to 2015, the sage grouse population has decreased by 92 percent. With decreasing numbers, hybridization may become more common and poses a major threat to the conservation of sage grouse. Interbreeding and successful backbreeding of hybrids to sage grouse will decrease the already low genetic diversity in North Dakota’s small population.