greater prairie chicken

The greater prairie chicken is a type of grouse found in the tallgrass prairies of the central United States. Males of this species are known for their distinctive courtship displays, during which they inflate yellowish-orange neck sacs.1

Prairie chickens belong to the family Tetraonidae, which includes various game birds. The greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) is a North American game bird, measuring about 45 cm (17.5 inches) long and weighing nearly 1 kg (2.2 pounds). Its plumage is brown, heavily barred underneath, with a short, rounded dark tail. A subspecies, Attwater's prairie chicken (T. cupido attwateri), has become rare due to the cultivation of its tall-grass habitat. The lesser prairie chicken (T. pallidicinctus) is a smaller, paler species found in the arid west-central Great Plains. The heath hen (T. cupido cupido), an eastern race of the greater prairie chicken, is now extinct.2