While most bird species may take to the sky and others may find home on the water, landbirds prefer to stay on the ground. Landbirds, such as quail, pheasants, and grouse, are known to walk more than fly, and often nest in tall grasses or shallow depressions on the ground. Generally, males of this group have flashy and colorful feathers for attracting females, which they show off in elaborate displays during the breeding season. Females, on the other hand, are typically duller in color for camouflage while incubating eggs on a nest. Listen for the low cooing of a male sharp-tailed grouse or look for the mating dance displays of the male ring-necked pheasant during breeding season. Landbirds can be a delight to find on the forest floors or open fields around Lake Roosevelt.
Plump, short-necked bird with a small head and bill, short, broad wings, and square tail. Both sexes have a comma-shaped feathers projecting forward from the forehead, longer in males than females
Adult males are rich gray and brown, with a black face outlined with bold white stripes. Females are a plainer brown and lack facial markings. Both sexes have a pattern of white, creamy, and chestnut scales on the belly
Lives in chaparral, sagebrush, oak woodlands, and foothill forests
Mainly eats seeds, as well as leaves, flowers, catkins, grain, berries, acorns, and invertebrates such as caterpillars, beetles, mites, millipedes, and snails
Male Columbian sharp-tailed grouse
USFWS/Rick Bohn
Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse
Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus
Chickenlike bird with small head, small bill, short legs, and pointed tail
Mottled overall in brown, white, and black, with white undertail and belly; feathered nostrils and legs; both sexes have orange comb over the eye; purple air sacs are visible on a male’s neck during courtship displays
During courtship displays, males spread their wings, lower their head, and point their tail upwards; while moving with stuttering steps and frequent direction changes, they inflate their purple throat sacs, rattle their tails, and vocalize with barks, coos, pops, and gobbles
Found in sagebrush-steppe grassland
Feeds on seeds, buds, leaves, berries, green shoots, and insects, depending on seasonal availability
Identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Washington state in 1998 due to declining populations numbers
Dappled reddish-brown or gray-brown body with slight crest, fan-shaped, black-banded tail, barred flanks, and black 'ruffs' on sides of neck
Lives in deciduous and mixed forests with scattered clearings and dense undergrowth
Feeds on vegetation, including leaves, buds, and fruits of ferns, shrubs, and woody plants
Males display for females by standing on logs, rocks, or low dirt mounds, puffing up crest, ruff, and tail to nearly double its normal size and beating its wings to create a rapid-fire drumming sound
Male ring-necked pheasant
USFWS/Tom Koerner
Ring-necked Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus
Large game bird with long neck and tail. Males have green head, white collar, and copper-colored body plumage with black and white spots. Females are brown overall, with black markings on back and wings
Prefers to live in open fields interspersed with hedges, marshes, woodland borders, and brushy groves
Diet includes seeds, grasses, leaves, roots, wild fruits and nuts, and insects
Males court females with a variety of displays such as strutting or running; spreading his tail and the wing closest to her while erecting the red wattles around his eyes and the feather-tufts behind his ears
Male wild turkey
NPS/Albert Myran
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Large, plump birds with small, un-feathered heads on long, slim necks, long legs, and wide, rounded tails; dark overall with a bronze-green iridescence; wings are dark, boldly barred with white; rump and tail feathers are broadly tipped with rust or white; bare skin of the head and neck varies from red to blue to gray
Both sexes can grow an average of 43–45 inches in length, with a wingspan of 49–56 inches, weighing 88–381 oz (5.5–23 lbs)
Lives year-round in open forests with interspersed clearings
Forages in flocks for plant matter on the ground, including acorns, tree nuts, seeds, berries, sedges, and grasses
Wild Turkey (gobble)
Wild Turkey gobble from a male recorded at the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park.
