BROOD HABITAT USE BY SAGE GROUSE IN OREGON

Habitat use by Sage Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) hens with brood s was examined at Jackass Creek and Hart Mountain, Oregon, from 1989 t hrough 1991. Sage Grouse hens initially selected low sagebrush (Artemi sia spp.) cover types during early brood-rearing, big sagebrush cover types later in the brood-rearing period, and ultimately concentrated u se in and near lakebeds and meadows. Areas used by Sage Grouse broods typically had greater forb frequency than did random sites. Hens at Ja ckass Creek selected sites with forb cover similar to that generally a vailable to broods at Hart Mountain, but home ranges were larger at Ja ckass Creek because of lower availability of suitable brood-rearing ha bitat. Differences in habitat use by broods on the two areas were refl ected in dietary differences; at Hart Mountain, chicks primarily ate f orbs and insects, whereas at Jackass Creek most of the diet was sagebr ush. Larger home ranges, differences in diets, and differences in avai lability of forb-rich habitats possibly were related to differences in abundance and productivity between areas.