Lesser Prairie-Chicken Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A stocky, medium-sized game bird with a large, round body, small head, and small bill. It has short legs and broad, rounded wings.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Ruffed Grouse, smaller than a Greater Prairie-Chicken.

  crow-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 15.0-16.1 in (38-41 cm)
    • Weight: 22.1-28.7 oz (628-813 g)

  © Janet Rathjen / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Mottled brown, rufous, and white above; barred brown and white below. Displaying males show bright orange "combs" over the eye and inflatable red-orange air sacs in the neck.

• Behavior

  Prairie-chickens forage by slowly walking through grasslands and brush, hunting insects and pecking at seeds and grains. They sometimes climb into vegetation for fruit, catkins, and buds. They are mostly terrestrial, but can fly for considerable distances between roosting and feeding areas. Displaying males raise feathers at the back of the head, inflate air sacs in the neck, cock the tail upward, and make cackling and booming sounds while strutting on their display area, known as a lek or booming ground.

• Habitat

  Resident in shortgrass prairies on sandy soils where shinnery oak, sand sagebrush, and bluestem grasses are prominent plants.