Greater Prairie-Chicken Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesGreater Prairie-Chicken
Adult male
Barred brown-and-white chickenlike grouse. During courtship displays, males raise the feathers on the side of their neck exposing the orange air sacs below, which they inflate to create a booming sound.
© Ryan Sanderson / Macaulay LibraryIllinoisAdult female
Barred brown-and-white chickenlike grouse with a small head. Females have a dark eyeline and a pale throat.
© Ronald Goddard / Macaulay LibraryNebraska, April 05, 2017Adult male
Males gather and display for females at sites called leks. Males stomp their feet, raise their tail feathers, and inflate the air sacks to make a deep booming sound. This video has no audio.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, March 04, 2002Not all videos have sound
Display
Males gather in prairie openings where they display for females.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 12, 2008Adult male
Barred brown-and-white chicklenlike grouse with a small head, rounded wings, and short tail.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 12, 2008Adult male
Found in native prairies with scattered oaks.
© Christian Hagenlocher / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 23, 2019Similar SpeciesLesser Prairie-Chicken
Female
Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chicken ranges overlap in only a small part of Kansas, and range is the best way to tell non-displaying birds apart.
© Sabrina Hepburn / Macaulay LibraryOklahomaSimilar SpeciesLesser Prairie-Chicken
Male
When displaying, male Lesser Prairie-Chickens have reddish-orange air sacs, while Greater Prairie-Chickens' are yellow-orange. The two species' ranges overlap only in western Kansas.
© Robert Mustell / Macaulay LibraryTexasSimilar SpeciesSharp-tailed Grouse
Adult female
Female Sharp-tailed Grouse are less strongly barred above and below than Greater Prairie-Chickens, with a longer, narrower, lighter tail.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryNorth Dakota, June 15, 2013Similar SpeciesSharp-tailed Grouse
Adult Male
Displaying Sharp-tailed Grouse have purplish air sacs on the neck instead of Greater Prairie-Chicken's yellow-orange air sacs. Sharp-tailed also has a longer, pointed tail and white spots on the back and wings.
© Joanne Bartkus / Macaulay LibraryWisconsinSimilar SpeciesRing-necked Pheasant
Female
Female Ring-necked Pheasants are larger than Greater Prairie-Chickens with longer necks and longer tails.
© Chuck Gates / Macaulay LibraryOregon, January 22, 2017Similar SpeciesRuffed Grouse
Adult
Ruffed Grouse live in forest understories rather than tallgrass prairie. They are mottled rather than strongly barred like Greater Prairie-Chickens.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, April 06, 2013Similar SpeciesRuffed Grouse
Male
Displaying Ruffed Grouse have ornate black neck feathers and a fanned tail with a dark band near the tip, unlike Greater Prairie-Chicken's yellow-orange air sacs and narrower tail.
© Lucas Bobay / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, March 05, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies(Order: Galliformes, Family: Phasianidae)
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