Newsletter / Blog
2012-04-07 How many endemic birds in Western USA?
Western
USA has 5
endemic birds.
They are: -
Black Rosy Finch
Gunnison Grouse
Yellow-billed
Magpie
Brown-capped Rosy
Finch
Island Scrub Jay
Gunnison sage-Grouse
The Gunnison sage-grouse - Centrocercus minimus - is endemic to
the USA and is confined to
the Gunnison basin in Gunnison and Saguache counties, south-west Colorado, with small, fragmented populations in Colorado and one in south-east Utah. They are found in a variety of
habitats such as large expanses of sagebrush with a diversity of grasses and
forbs and healthy wetland and riparian ecosystems.
Description
A small, variegated greyish-brown
grouse. Black belly and long, stiff, pointed tail feathers. Male has black
throat and upper neck, separated by V-shaped white line. Large white ruff on
breast and some white bars on tail. Large, yellowish cervical sacs and
inconspicuous yellow eyecombs.
Food
Sagebrush, forbs and insects
Breeding
Male Gunnison
sage-grouse conduct an elaborate display when trying to attract females on
breeding grounds, or leks in the spring. They will strut, flap their
wings against their white pouches and utter a distinct series of sounds by
vocalizing and popping two air sacs within their pouches. Nesting begins
in mid-April and continues into July.
Conservation Status – Endangered
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has determined that the Gunnison
sage-grouse, warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. This species
qualifies as Endangered because it has a very small occupied range which is
severely fragmented and declining. Threats are habitat loss, degradation
and fragmentation is resulting from conversion to roads, reservoirs,
livestock-grazing, hay and other crops, real estate developments, power lines,
land treatments and increased deer populations.
Birdwatching
The best time to view the
elaborate and bizarre breeding dance of the Gunnison
Sage-grouse is from 1 April to early-May. The Waunita Lek, is located 19 miles
east of Gunnison. The lek is located on
private property, but the pull-off is a Colorado Division of Wildlife managed
Watchable Wildlife site. The site is open April 1st through May 15th. |