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Lesser Prairie-Chicken

Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ORDER: GALLIFORMES FAMILY: PHASIANIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable

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A smaller, paler version of the Greater Prairie-Chicken, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken is now found only in restricted areas of five states in the southern Great Plains. It inhabits open rangeland dominated by shinnery oak or sand sagebrush.

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At a GlanceHelp

Measurements
Both Sexes
Length
15–16.1 in
38–41 cm
Weight
22.2–28.7 oz
628–813 g
Other Names
  • Tétras pâle (French)

Habitat


Grassland
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Food


Insects
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Nesting

Nesting Facts
Condition at Hatching
Downy and able to follow mother.
Nest Placement

Ground
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Behavior


Ground Forager

Multiple males display at group display site, known as a lek.

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Conservation

status via IUCN

Vulnerable

Large population declines since 1800s have resulted primarily as the result of droughts, conversion of rangeland to cropland, excessive grazing by livestock, chemical control of sand sagebrush and shinnery oak on rangelands, and perhaps hunting when populations were low. Hunting is still premitted in Kansas and Texas.

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Credits

  • Giesen, K. M. 1998. Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). In The Birds of North America, No. 364 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
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Range Map Help

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range Map
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