Editor:

My daughter, class of '03, has alerted me to the fact that there is a common misconception rampant in the Pomona College community that sage hens are extinct. I am a professor of wildlife resources at the University of Idaho, and am an expert on sage hens. More correctly, however, the name should be sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus. Sage hen is a vernacular for the species.

The sage grouse is the largest grouse in North America, weighing up to 3.9 kg, and inhabits western shrub-steppe landscapes dominated by big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata. It is a fascinating species with a promiscuous mating system where, in spring, 20-100 males gather on a lek to display to females. A lek typically is an open, flat area where males actively defend small, five to 100 m2 territories. Males display to hens by erecting their tail feathers in a fanned out manner, holding filoplumes on their neck in an upright position, expanding their bright yellow eye combs, and producing loud plops with expansion of large esophageal air pouches. Males may do this 6-10 times per minute when females are present. A large lek can be heard from up to miles away.

Females arrive at leks in small groups, watch the males displaying, and then select the dominant, 3-4 year-old males for mating. Females then go off alone and lay the clutch, incubate the eggs and raise the brood with no help from the males.

Sage grouse eat sagebrush throughout most of the year, but supplement their diet with invertebrates in spring and with herbaceous plants during spring and summer. Their annual ranges can be quite large. Some birds in Idaho migrate up to 120 miles round trip during each year, while others stay in small areas year-round.

California still retains sage hens along its eastern border and wildlife biologists are studying the species in the Susanville area. The species also exists in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, and in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Its numbers have been reduced because of agricultural development in sagebrush lands, wildfires and invasion by exotic grasses that prevent sagebrush from growing, overgrazing by livestock, and droughts. However, it is still a gamebird in many states.

Because numbers are lower now than 30 years ago, many people are concerned about the long-term viability of the species. Biologists in Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Oregon have been studying the birds intensively for the last 15-20 years. I have personally directed seven M.S. and three Ph.D. students working on various aspects of sage grouse ecology and management in Idaho. There is currently a petition to list the species as threatened in the state of Washington where only around 1000 sage grouse remain.

I hope that this helps Pomona students, faculty and staff to become more aware of the truth behind their Cecil Sagehen mascot.

Sincerely,

Kerry Paul Reese

Professor of Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho