Tympanuchus phasianellus
Silhouette: Samantha Straus · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus), also known as the sharptail or fire grouse, is a medium-sized prairie grouse. One of three species in the genus Tympanuchus, the sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout Alaska, much of Northern and Western Canada, and parts of the Western and Midwestern United States. The sharp-tailed grouse is the provincial bird of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the sharp-tailed grouse in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Long-tailed Grous from Hudson's-Bay". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from Hudson Bay by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the sharp-tailed grouse with other grouse in the genus Tetrao. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tetrao phasianellus and cited Edwards' work. The sharp-tailed grouse is now placed in the genus Tympanuchus that was introduced in 1841 by the German zoologist Constantin... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sharp-tailed Grouse sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 178th most-seen of the 181 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sharp-tailed Grouse in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Riding Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 100 mm in June.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sharp-tailed Grouse sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Sharp-tailed Grouse sightings, Riding Mountain National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 10%) and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Phasianidae
The closest relatives of the Sharp-tailed Grouse that you can see in Riding Mountain National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Ruffed Grouse (about 20%) and Wild Turkey (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sharp-tailed Grouse is recorded against all the birds logged in Riding Mountain National Park (25 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
