Sharp tailed grouse are commonly mistaken for their larger cousin, the prairie chicken. Males have mottled brown and gray underparts with spotted underparts and long, pointed tail feathers. During spring, the male has yellow eye patches and purple air sacs on his neck that are inflated during mating. Females are fairly similar without the yellow eye patch and purple air sac.
The sharp-tailed grouse is found mainly in South-Western Canada and the Northern United States. They usually live in open, grassy areas during summer months and sheltered, wooded areas during the winter.
The female nests alone in May and June, creating shallow depressions lined by feathers under shrubs and bushes. She will lay an average of ten to fourteen eggs, where newly hatched chicks will follow their mother to feeding areas.
