GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — Need some inspiration for the dance floor? Take a cue from these sage-grouse.
Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has shared a slow-motion video of male greater sage-grouse demonstrating their courtship rituals. Every spring, the birds gather at their breeding grounds (known as leks) to pair up for the season. Males perform a mating display called strutting.
“Each morning at dawn, they puff their chests and fan their starburst tails,” GTNP posted alongside the clip. “They inflate bulbous yellow air sacs and thrust their heads forward to produce weird pops and whistles. In preparation for this display, males can gulp and hold about a gallon of air in a pouch of their esophagus, then squeeze it out with force to power their performance. This choreography can happen up to 10 times per minute and continue for hours in the early morning.”
After the territorial males are finished dancing, females will select a mate, then build a nest in the sagebrush. According to GTNP, females will lay a clutch of between four and 11 eggs, which will hatch about 30 days later.
“So maybe nature’s dating advice is simple: Show up early. Bring your best moves. Hold your ground. And let the audience decide,” GTNP posted.
Birdwatchers are reminded to keep their distance from leks, stay quiet and let the strutting commence without interruption.
In March, GTNP partnered with local students and conservation organizations to install robotic sage-grouse in strategic locations, luring birds away from the airport and toward restored mating grounds.
