Lesser Prairie-Chicken

Tympanuchus pallidicinctusOrder: GALLIFORMES Family: Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)

Codes: Common Name: LEPC Scientific Name: TYMPAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175838

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: The male Lesser Prairie-Chicken is brown overall with fine white bars. The head has yellow-orange combs over the eyes and plumes that can be raised or laid along the neck. Red-orange air sacs on sides of neck inflate during courtship. Tail is short, black, and rounded.

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Overview

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Medium, stocky grouse, brown overall with fine white bars. Head has yellow-orange combs over eyes, plumes that can be raised or laid along the neck. Red-orange air sacs on sides of neck inflate during courtship. Tail is short, black, and rounded. Yellow-brown feathered legs.

Range and Habitat

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Resident in southern Colorado and Kansas, south locally in western Oklahoma, Texas, and eastern New Mexico. Found in sandy grassland areas that have an abundance of midgrass, sandsage, and yucca.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

No data available.

Interesting Facts

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken was first described in 1873 by Robert Ridgway, an American ornithologist.

Subfossil remains are known from Rocky Arroyo in the Guadalupe Mountains, outside the species' current range but where more habitat existed in the less humid conditions in the outgoing last ice age.

They disappeared apparently no later than about 8000 BC, soon after the start of human settlement, which may also have contributed to the local extinction.

A group of prairie chickens are known collectively as a "little house" and a "pack" of prairie chickens.

Bird Term Glossary

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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.

Lesser Prairie-Chicken

● Song: No data available.

● Foraging & Feeding: Lesser Prairie-Chicken: In summer, feeds on grasshoppers and other insects; Eats seeds, leaves, and grain from agricultural lands during winter.

● Breeding & nesting: Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Eleven to thirteen white to buff eggs finely spotted with pale brown or olive are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 22 to 24 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Greater Prairie-Chicken has yellow air sacs.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid shallow wing beats with short glides., Strong rapid flight.

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Resident in southern Colorado and Kansas, south locally in western Oklahoma, Texas, and eastern New Mexico. Found in sandy grassland areas that have an abundance of midgrass, sandsage, and yucca.

^BreedingPolygamous, Promiscuous

^PopulationUncommon to rare, Declining

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight27.2 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Plumes

Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.

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