Sharp-tailed Grouse Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesSharp-tailed Grouse
Adult male
Round and chickenlike with long and pointed central tail feathers and a small, slightly crested head. Purple skin patches are visible on the male's neck during courtship displays.
© Sulli Gibson / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, April 05, 2019Adult
Round and chickenlike with long and pointed central tail feathers and a small, slightly crested head. Barred in brown, black, and buff. Note V-shaped marks on belly.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, December 21, 2019Adult female
Round and chickenlike with long, pointed central tail feathers and a small, slightly crested head. Barred in brown, black, and buff.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryNorth Dakota, June 15, 2013Adult
Round and chickenlike with a small, slightly crested head. Barred in brown, black, and buff.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, January 24, 2018Adult
Males gather at specific sites called leks to perform courtship displays for females.
© Joanne Bartkus / Macaulay LibraryWisconsinAdult
Social grouse that sometimes perches in trees.
© Tresa Moulton / Macaulay LibraryColorado, January 01, 2016Similar SpeciesGreater Prairie-Chicken
Female
Greater Prairie-Chickens are strongly barred above and below unlike Sharp-tailed Grouse, which have less barring below.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 04, 2015Similar SpeciesGreater Prairie-Chicken
Adult male
Displaying Greater Prairie-Chickens have shorter, squared-off, dark tails and yellow-orange patches on the neck unlike the yellow-orange patches of Sharp-tailed Grouse.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 04, 2015Similar SpeciesLesser Prairie-Chicken
Female
Lesser Prairie-Chicken has a small range that lies southeast of Sharp-tailed Grouse's range. Lesser Prairie-Chickens are strongly barred above and below.
© Sabrina Hepburn / Macaulay LibraryOklahomaSimilar SpeciesRing-necked Pheasant
Female
Female Ring-necked Pheasants are larger than Sharp-tailed Grouse with longer necks and much longer tails.
© Chuck Gates / Macaulay LibraryOregon, January 22, 2017Similar SpeciesRuffed Grouse
Adult
Ruffed Grouse occur mainly in forest understories rather than in the mix of prairie and open woodland that Sharp-tailed Grouse use. Ruffed Grouse lack the white-spotted upperparts and has dark bars on the sides.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, April 06, 2013Similar SpeciesRuffed Grouse
Male
Displaying male Ruffed Grouse have ornate, frilly black feathers around the neck and a fanned tail with a dark band near the tip, very unlike Sharp-tailed Grouse's purplish neck patches and pale, pointed tail.
© Lucas Bobay / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, March 05, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies(Order: Galliformes, Family: Phasianidae)
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