Bird name:

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Tympanuchus cupido

Order

GALLIFORMES

Family

Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)

Code 4

GRPC

Code 6

TYMCUP

ITIS

175834

Breeding Location:

Prairies, tallgrass

Breeding Type:

Promiscuous

Breeding Population:

Endangered in limited range in U.S., Uncommon to rare, Declining

Egg Color:

Olive with dark brown spots

Number of Eggs:

7 - 17

Incubation Days:

23 - 24

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with grass and feathers., Lined with leaves.

Migration:

Most do not migrate

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General

Greater Prairie-Chicken: Medium-sized, stocky grouse, strongly barred with brown and buff (or white) and with yellow-orange eye combs. Orange air sacs on both sides of the neck are inflated during courtship display; long feathers on back of neck are also raised during displays. Tail is short, rounded, and dark brown, legs are feathered down to the toes, and nostrils are hidden by feathers. Female is similar to the male, but has smaller, colorless air sacs, shorter neck feathers, and the tail is barred.

Range and Habitat

Greater Prairie-Chicken: Once found in suitable prairie/forest habitat from southern Ontario to Alberta, and from Ohio to the northern Great Plains, this species was almost gone by the end of 1930s. It now survives in scattered areas of southern Canada and in the midwestern U.S.; land is being acquired for managed habitats to save the bird from extinction. Prefers open sweeps of permanent tallgrass and a minimum of brush and trees. Needs grass of 10 to 18 inches in height for roosting and nesting.

Breeding and Nesting

Greater Prairie-Chicken: Seven to seventeen olive eggs spotted with dark brown are laid in a bowl-shaped ground depression lined with grass, dead leaves, and feathers. Incubation ranges from 23 to 24 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Greater Prairie-Chicken: Feeds on leaves, seeds, buds, cultivated grains, fruits, and insects.

Vocalization

Greater Prairie-Chicken: During courtship male produces booming sound "whoo-doo-dooooohh, zoooo...wooooo...youoo."

Similar Species

Greater Prairie-Chicken: Lesser Prairie-Chicken has pink neck patch, generally paler plumage, and more finely barred flanks.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America