"It's like going to the high school gym for a sock hop," said Fenimore, owner of the Wild Bird Center in Layton. "It's their chance to meet the opposite sex and to find a mate. There is a lot of displaying and a lot of male ego."

The testosterone begins flowing for Utah's grouse in early April and typically continues through the middle of May. Three species of grouse - the greater sage, Gunnison sage and the sharp-tailed - display their amazing mating rituals on breeding grounds called leks in open areas often easily viewed by people. Ruffed and blue grouse are more discreet in their displays and remain in forested areas when breeding.

Fenimore describes the song of a male sage grouse making his presence known "like the sound of someone gulping with a big pipe in their chest. They throw their body forward so their air sacs can bounce off their breastbone. The hens find it irresistible."

When other males show up, the dance changes to something similar to a classic bout between heavyweights.

"It's like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. They go head to head and have a staredown. If that doesn't work [to intimidate one of them to leave], then they start throwing wings like a left and a right. It is all about exerting dominance and being the king of the lek kind of thing," Fenimore said.

Where to watch: One of the best places to see greater sage grouse strut their stuff is in the Henefer Divide area between Henefer and East Canyon Reservoir on Highway 65 (from Salt Lake City, take Interstate 80 to Interstate 84 near Echo. The road quickly meets up with Highway 65). Fenimore says the main lek is only about five miles off I-84, near the signs for Summit and Morgan counties. This is a great place to view the birds from a car. The best time to see them is at first light, but get there well before dawn and you will hear the grouse long before the sun comes up.

Greater sage grouse leks are typically found in large sagebrush flats. Other good places to look for greater sage grouse leks are in Rich County, the Park Valley area of Box Elder County, the Diamond and Blue mountains of Uintah County and on Parker Mountain in Wayne County.

Gunnison sage grouse are found only in San Juan County, east of Monticello near the Colorado state line, but most of the leks are on private property. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has an extensive viewing program for Gunnison sage grouse.

Sharp-tailed grouse are found only in northern Utah. Fenimore says northern Box Elder County - between Tremonton and Snowville - is a good place to look for sharp-tailed dancing grounds. The area around the Golden Spike National Historic Site is another good place to search for leks. Sharp-tailed grouse leks are found more often on ridge tops than on flats like greater and Gunnison sage grouse.

Ruffed grouse and blue grouse may not have leks, but they make just as much noise during mating season. Fenimore says male ruffed grouse have drumming logs where they set up shop and make a loud drumming sound by beating their wings to attract females. Ruffed grouse can be found in aspen stands on the edges of meadows.

Blue grouse have more of a hooting call and are typically found in the spring on south-facing slopes on the edge of pine forests.

Ruffed and blue grouse range across Utah's mountainous, shrub/steppe and grassland areas and are the most numerous grouse in the state.

Don't guess your Grouse

If the puffing and drumming rituals aren't enough to help you distinguish which bird is which, these descriptions might help:

Greater sage grouse

Often called the sage hen, sage chicken or prairie chicken, it is the largest grouse in North America, growing up to 30 inches in length and about 7 pounds. Sage grouse are native to Utah, but their range has decreased 50 percent.

Gunnison sage grouse

The Gunnison is similar to the greater sage grouse, but is slightly smaller and limited to a small range in San Juan County near Monticello. Colorado hosts a much larger number of Gunnison sage grouse.

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse

Also known as the pin-tailed grouse, this bird once ranged from the Idaho border to central Utah's Piute County. Remnant populations reside in Box Elder, Cache and Morgan counties.

Ruffed grouse

Sometimes called the willow grouse, this bird prefers brushy woodland areas adjacent to streams and springs. It favors alder, willow, aspen and maple thickets. Ruffed grouse are a favorite of serious upland game hunters.

Blue grouse

This bird is also known as the dusky grouse, the pine hen, the pine grouse and fool hen. The greatest density of blue grouse is on the northern Wasatch range. Blue grouse have not been affected by human intrusion as much as other grouse.

-- Source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Main photo by Ron Stewart, other photos by Ron Greer and Ron Stewart/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

The listing debate

Grouse in Utah are being petitioned for inclusion on the Endangered Species List, according to Dean Mitchell, upland game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The Gunnison sage grouse is currently a candidate species for listing and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the status of the population for future consideration.

The greater sage grouse has been petitioned three times for the Endangered Species List, but officials found each time that it was not warranted.

Sharp-tail grouse were petitioned for listing in 1995 and eventually rejected for the list, but a new petition was made in December 2004 and is awaiting review.