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Breeding Range. (Fig. 53). Common on the Little Missouri Slope; locally common on the Missouri Slope and Coteau Slope, in northwestern and central portions of the Missouri Coteau (north of LaMoure and Logan Counties) and on the Souris Lake Plain; fairly common locally elsewhere on the Northwestern and Northeastern Drift Plains, in the northern portion of the Southern Drift Plain (south to and including Stutsman County and the northern half of Barnes County), and in the Turtle Mountains; uncommon or rare in the Agassiz Lake Plain Region and in southern portions of the Southern Drift Plain and Missouri Coteau (southern Barnes County and Cass, Richland, Ransom, Sargent, LaMoure, Dickey, Logan, and McIntosh Counties). Prior to 1900, this species was common throughout the state (Coues 1878, Johnson 1964, Judd 1892, Williams 1926, Wood 1923).

During the period 1937 to 1939, Aldous (1943) believed that the large numbers of Sharp-tailed Grouse inhabiting the sandhill area of McHenry, Pierce, and Bottineau Counties (about 200,000 acres) probably represented the best populations occurring anywhere in the "Great Plains" region. A statewide population of 860,000 birds in July 1940 was estimated on the basis of roadside counts (Saugstad et al. 1940). At this time, greatest concentrations were found in parts of Bottineau, Burke, Dunn, McHenry, Mountrail, Renville, Ward, and Williams Counties. In 1961, on the basis of the number of wings received during a statewide hunter survey (A. T. Klett), Sharp-tailed Grouse appeared to be most numerous in the following 12 counties: Benson, Bottineau, Billings, Eddy, McHenry, McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Slope, Stutsman, and Williams. On this same basis, this species apparently was least numerous in the following 7 southeastern counties: Barnes, Cass, LaMoure, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, and Traill.

Breeding Habitat. Sharp-tailed Grouse are characteristic inhabitants of tracts of mixed-grass prairie that contain scattered patches of small trees and shrubs or are located near the margins of woodlands. Usually this species is restricted to mixed-grass prairies that are relatively undisturbed by excessive grazing or other intensive land-use practices. According to Johnson (1964) a preference is shown for grassland that is interspersed with 5 to 30 percent brushland. In the Turtle Mountains, Wood (1923) found this species to be especially common in clearings and open fields. In many agricultural cropland areas Sharp-tailed Grouse also have adapted to use of Soil Bank and abandoned weedy fields that have been created under government crop retirement programs. Occasionally, this species also utilizes alfalfa, sweetclover, and other domestic hayfields.

Nesting. Breeding Sharp-tailed Grouse ordinarily congregate on communal dancing grounds each spring from mid-March to late May (Miller 1955). These usually are located on grassy knolls or ridges. Breeding season: Late April to mid-September; peak, mid-May to early August. Extreme egg dates (129 nests): April 29 [1943] on J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge (refuge personnel) to July 28 [1971] in Stutsman County (L. M. Kirsch). Extreme dates of dependent young (183 broods): May 22 [1941] in Slope County (R. W. Stuart) to September 11 [1961] in Mercer County (North Dakota Game and Fish Department).

Apparently, the nesting season in southwestern North Dakota is somewhat earlier than in other parts of the state. In Slope County, the peak hatching period in 1941 was June 1-7 (R. W. Stuart) compared to June 4-10 in Billings County in 1942 (D. Faegre), June 12-19 in Nelson County in 1941 (A. Erickson), June 15-20 in Bottineau County in 1941 (T. Street), and June 9-15 in Bottineau county in 1942 (L. H. Dundas).

Most nests of this species are situated in ungraded or lightly grazed native prairie, often within or at the margins of thickets of shrubs or small trees. Locally, haylands and crop retirement fields also are used to a considerable extent. During 1966-1970 on the Woodworth Field Station of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Stutsman County, 22 nests were reported by L. M. Kirsch to be distributed as follows: nonuse prairie, 10 nests; unused alfalfa or sweetclover, 9 nests; grazed prairie, 1 nest; grain stubble, 1 nest; and domestic hayfield, 1 nest.

Indicated clutch size (29 nests): 7 to 18 eggs; mean, 11.9 eggs.

Figure 53. Breeding Range of Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Sharp-tailed Grouse on dancing ground. McHenry County, April 1973 (photo by Ed Bry).

Aggressive male Sharp-tailed Grouse with fixed stare on dancing ground. Burleigh County, April 1971 (photo by Ed Bry).