Greater Prairie-Chicken
Tympanuchus cupido
Plump, chickenlike bird found in grasslands. Body and wings entirely barred brown with paler buffy throat. In spring, males gather at display site and dance to attract females: look for them hunched over with earlike feathers protruding from the head and yellowish-orange skin exposed on the neck. Inconspicuous and difficult to find away from display sites. Separate from Lesser Prairie-Chicken by range; averages slightly darker and larger than Lesser. Darker than Sharp-tailed Grouse with more heavily barred sides and belly; rounded tail.
Identification
Adults of both sexes are medium to large chicken-like birds, stocky with round wings. They have short tails which are typically rounded. Adult males have orange comb-like feathers over their eyes and dark, elongated head feathers that can be raised or lain along neck. They also possess a circular, un-feathered neck patch which can be inflated while displaying; this, like their comb feathers, is also orange. As with many other bird species, the adult females have shorter head feathers and also lack the male's yellow comb and orange neck patch. Adults are about 43 cm (17 in) long, and weigh between 700–1,200 g (25–42 oz). The greater prairie-chicken has a wingspan range of 69.5–72.5 cm (27.4–28.5 in).
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tympanuchus cupido
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Tympanuchus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The greater prairie-chicken was almost extinct in the 1930s due to hunting pressure and habitat loss. In Illinois alone, in the 1800s, the prairie-chicken numbered in the millions. It was a popular game bird, and like many prairie birds, which have also suffered massive habitat loss, it is now on the verge of extinction, with the wild bird population at around 200 in Illinois in 2019. It now only lives on small parcels of managed prairie land. Throughout North America, it is thought that their current population has declined severely, to approximately 500,000 individuals.[citation needed] In May 2000, the Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the greater prairie-chicken as extirpated in its Canadian range (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario). It was again confirmed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in November 2009. Nonetheless, sightings and encounters continue to occur in the south-central regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan, along with southern Ontario, where sightings are extremely rare.<p>In states such as Iowa and Missouri that once had thriving prairie-chicken populations (estimated to be hundreds of thousands), total numbers have dropped to about 500. However, the Missouri Department of Conservation has started a program to import prairie-chickens from Kansas and Nebraska in the hopes that they will be able to repopulate the state and increase that number to 3,000.<p>Central Wisconsin is home to approximately 600 individuals, down from 55,000 when hunting was prohibited in 1954. [citation needed] Though this area was predominately spruce and tamarack marsh before European settlement, early pioneers drained the marshes and attempted to farm the poor soil. As the prairies to the south and west were lost to agriculture and development, and the southern half of Wisconsin was logged, the prairies spread northward into the abandoned farmland. Today, over 30,000 acres are managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as greater prairie-chicken habitat. Birdwatchers travel from around the world to visit Wisconsin in April for the Central Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival, started in 2006 by Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rock Sparrow
Petronia petronia
Odd-looking, chunky, sparrowlike bird with a strong bill. Body is heavily streaked; most distinctive features are the dark brown crown and well-marked pale eyebrows. A yellow spot on the throat is rarely visible in the field. Found in open and rocky country from stony hillsides to villages and farmland. The call "vui" is quite memorable.
Thrush Nightingale
Luscinia luscinia
Very similar to Common Nightingale, but more dusky brown (not reddish-brown), with a duller and darker rufous tail and a mottled brown (not plain and sandy) breast. Their songs can be confusingly similar, but Thrush Nightingale is more monotonous, less varied, and slower, resembling that of Song Thrush. Calls include a bright but difficult-to-locate “teek”, and a low, dry rattle. Breeds in thick, damp, deciduous forest as well as well-wooded parks and gardens. Winters in tangled, often damp, thickets and brushy vegetation. Turns up in a wide range of habitats on passage, including drier areas. Feeds on invertebrates and berries.
Rosy Pipit
Anthus roseatus
An elegant, well-marked pipit that breeds in montane regions,but descends down into meadows and agricultural fields in the winter. Breeding adult is unmistakable with a soft pink throat and breast. Nonbreeding adults and immature birds lack the pink breast, but have a thick creamy white brow and mustache stripe, as well as thick blotchy streaking on the breast. Buff-bellied and Red-throated Pipits are also strongly marked on the breast, but both have much weaker brow patterns than Rosy Pipit. Gives a squeaky “tseep!”. Sings repetitive high-pitched song from the ground and while in the air.
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