How did the grouse species “sage hen” get its name?

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Western American grouse include the prairie chicken, Tympanuchus cupido, once common in the East, and the sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus. The latter, called also sage hen, sage cock, or cock of the plains, is the largest American grouse (25-30 in./62.5-70 cm long) and so named because its flesh tastes strongly of sage—the result of feeding on sagebrush buds.