Each male fans the long feathers of his tail into a spiky, punk-rocker bustle, erects his yellow eye combs and a neck ruff of black feathers, and puffs out his white chest. He then takes two steps forward, swishes his stiff wings, coos, whistles, and quickly inflates and deflates two yellow, breastlike esophageal sacs. They put a lot of energy into the show, losing a significant amount of body weight during breeding season. Female sage grouse wander among the displaying males as if comparison shopping. The main problem for sage grouse today, most experts agree, is the fragmentation and decline of sagebrush shrublands.
Hens prefer to nest in the cover offered by large sagebrush plants in relatively dense stands.
Their leks are located in clearings near sagebrush shrublands. Nor will one or two acres of the shrub do. Not all sage grouse migrate, however. If all of the components of their habitat are available within one area, they'll stick around. As important as sagebrush is to sage grouse, it is equally vital to arid ecosystems.