Lesser Prairie-Chicken Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesLesser Prairie-Chicken
Male
Barred grayish brown-and-white chickenlike grouse with a short tail. Males raise the feathers on the side of their neck to expose bare patches of reddish skin, which they inflate to produce booming sounds.
© Alex Eberts / Macaulay LibraryKansasFemale
Barred grayish brown-and-white chickenlike grouse with a short tail and small head. Females have a pale throat and eyeline.
© Zach Millen / Macaulay LibraryKansasJuvenile
Barred grayish brown-and-white chickenlike grouse. Juveniles look like females with a pale throat and eyeline.
© Jacob Drucker / Macaulay LibraryKansasSimilar SpeciesGreater Prairie-Chicken
Adult female
Greater and Lesser Prairie-Chicken ranges overlap in only a small part of Kansas, and range is the best way to tell non-displaying birds apart.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 04, 2015Similar SpeciesGreater Prairie-Chicken
Adult male
When displaying, male Greater Prairie-Chickens have yellowish-orange air sacs, while Lesser Prairie-Chickens' are reddish-orange. The two species' ranges overlap only in western Kansas.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 04, 2015Similar SpeciesSharp-tailed Grouse
Adult Female
Female Sharp-tailed Grouse are less strongly barred above and below than Lesser 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 Lesser Prairie-Chicken's reddish-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 Lesser Prairie-Chickens with longer necks and longer tails.
© Chuck Gates / Macaulay LibraryOregon, January 22, 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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