Sage Grouse: hens and chicks

I tagged along on a trip to the Laramie Plains to check cattle. Finally, I saw a Sage Grouse.

In the tall grass was a group of hens and their chicks.

They spotted me but continued to graze on sagebrush and insects.

Sagebrush, I learned, is approximately 60% of their total food intake.

Off they went without me getting too close. I hope to see more soon. Apparently the males strut like turkeys during mating season and have two yellowish sacs on the neck, kind of like a pelican, and are inflated during courtship. They make the neatest sounds, people say the sagebrush sings during mating season.

---