Greater prairie chicken  (Tympanuchus cupido)

Range

Found in scattered areas of southern Canada and the mid-western United States (6). The extinct heath hen (T. c. cupido) once ranged along the coastal zone of eastern U.S. but the last bird died in 1932, and the Attwater’s prairie hen (T. c. attwateri) is restricted to small areas of south-east Texas and (formerly) neighbouring southwest Louisiana (2) (7). The largest remaining populations of the greater prairie chicken (T. c. pinnatus) are in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota (2).

View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Habitat

Native prairie is preferred, but this bird has also had to adapt to cropland as natural habitats became converted to agricultural land (2). Grassy habitats such as un-grazed meadows, with tall grass sturdy enough to withstand strong winds and heavy precipitation, are required for roosting and nesting (2) (4). Courtship, by contrast, occurs on open knolls with short grass, usually on elevated ground where males can easily display to females (2) (4).

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