20 April 2025: Grouse Lek Extravaganza with She Flew Birding Excursions.
Day 2: South and west to Gunnison, birding alongside the way in which.
Query of the Day: What’s a lek and why do grouse do it?
“A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to have interaction in aggressive shows and courtship rituals, often known as lekking, to entice visiting females that are surveying potential companions with which to mate.” — Wikipedia definition of Lek Mating
Every species performs its distinctive track and dance, closely influenced by feminine selection. Solely the females’ favourite dancers get to mate so these are the traits handed to the following era.
Let’s check out the courtship ritual of essentially the most quite a few grouse within the American West, the better sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Discover that his “track” is one thing like “blub… blub blub.” The women hear it and are available to the lek.
As men and women collect on the lek, the association of particular person birds throughout the enviornment modifications because the sturdy males problem and push away the weaker ones. The dominant males find yourself within the heart, weaker ones on the sides (alpha-male is highest rating, then beta-male, gamma-male, and so on).
After the males’ hierarchy is established the females mate with the dominant male(s) within the heart. The women invite mating by going through away and tenting their wings.
Q: Why a lek?
A: The women insist on it.
