Prairie-chicken is the name of two species of North American grouse. These birds live in the central and western plains of the United States. The greater prairie-chicken is about 18 inches (46 centimeters) long and weighs about 2 pounds (0.9 kilogram). Its feathers are yellowish-brown and white above, crossed with black bars, and white and brown barred below. Its head is deep buff with brown stripes. The lesser prairie-chicken is somewhat smaller, measuring about 16 inches (41 centimeters) long. Its feathers are paler than those of the greater prairie-chicken.
Prairie-chickens have unusual courtship habits. The male bird erects the feather tufts on his neck, spreads and raises his tail, and stretches out his wings and allows them to droop. He inflates two pouches on the side of his throat and makes a hollow booming noise. The male also leaps and dances during the courtship period.
The number of prairie-chickens has decreased greatly since the mid-1800’s, chiefly because their prairie homes have been plowed under for farmland. The lesser prairie-chicken lives in the southern part of the Central Plains area, from Kansas to Texas. The greater prairie-chicken now lives in isolated areas from Michigan and Illinois westward to the Great Plains. It once lived as far east as Massachusetts. Atwater’s prairie-chicken, a subspecies of the greater prairie-chicken, lives only on the coast of Texas. The heath hen, another subspecies of the greater prairie-chicken, has been extinct since the 1930’s.
See also Grouse.
