Greater prairie-chicken
Greater prairie-chicken | |
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Male displaying in Illinois, USA | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Phasianidae |
Genus: | Tympanuchus |
Species: | T. cupido
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Binomial name | |
Tympanuchus cupido | |
Subspecies | |
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Distribution map of the greater prairie-chicken. Pale and dark green: pre-settlement Dark green: current year-round | |
Synonyms | |
Tetrao cupido Linnaeus, 1758 |
The greater prairie-chicken or pinnated grouse (Tympanuchus cupido), sometimes called a boomer,
Description
Adults of both sexes are medium to large chicken-like birds, stocky with round-wings. They have short tails which are typically rounded. Adult males have orange comb-like feathers over their eyes and dark, elongated head feathers that can be raised or lain along neck. They also possess a circular, un-feathered neck patch which can be inflated while displaying; this, like their comb feathers, is also orange. As with many other bird species, the adult females have shorter head feathers and also lack the male's yellow comb and orange neck patch. Adults are about 43 cm (17 in) long, and weigh between 700–1,200 g (25–42 oz).[3] The greater prairie-chicken has a wingspan range of 69.5–72.5 cm (27.4–28.5 in).[4]
Subspecies
There are three subspecies;
- The heath hen, Tympanuchus cupido cupido, which was historically found along the Atlantic coast, is extinct. It was possibly a distinct species; in this case the two other forms would be T. pinnatus pinnatus and T. p. attwateri.
- Attwater's prairie-chicken, T. c. attwateri is endangered and restricted to coastal Texas.
- The greater prairie-chicken, T. c. pinnatus, is now restricted to a small section of its former range.
Population and habitat
The greater prairie-chicken prefers undisturbed prairie and was originally found in tallgrass prairies. It can tolerate agricultural land mixed with prairie, but sparser population density is found in areas that are more agricultural. Its diet consists primarily of seeds and fruit, but during the summer it also eats green plants and insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles.[5] This species was once widespread all across the oak savanna and tall grass prairie ecosystem.
Conservation
The greater prairie-chicken was almost extinct in the 1930s due to hunting pressure and habitat loss. In Illinois alone, in the 1800s the prairie-chicken numbered in the millions. It was a popular game bird, and like many prairie birds, which have also suffered massive habitat loss, it is now on the verge of extinction, with the wild bird population at around 200 in Illinois in 2019. It now only lives on small parcels of managed prairie land.[6] Throughout North America, it is thought that their current population has declined severely, to approximately 500,000 individuals.[citation needed] In May 2000, the Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the greater prairie-chicken as extirpated in its Canadian range (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario).[7] It was again confirmed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in November 2009.[8] Nonetheless, sightings and encounters continue to occur in the south-central regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan, along with southern Ontario, where sightings are extremely rare.[9]
In states such as Iowa and Missouri that once had thriving prairie-chicken populations (estimated to be hundreds of thousands[10]), total numbers have dropped to about 500. However, the Missouri Department of Conservation has started a program to import prairie-chickens from Kansas and Nebraska in the hopes that they will be able to repopulate the state and increase that number to 3,000.
Central Wisconsin is home to approximately 600 individuals, down from 55,000 when hunting was prohibited in 1954.[citation needed] Though this area was predominately spruce and tamarack marsh before European settlement, early pioneers drained the marshes and attempted to farm the poor soil. As the prairies to the south and west were lost to agriculture and development, and the southern half of Wisconsin was logged, the prairies spread northward into the abandoned farmland. Today, over 30,000 acres are managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as greater prairie-chicken habitat. Birdwatchers travel from around the world to visit Wisconsin in April for the Central Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival, started in 2006 by Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
Threats
Studies have found mesopredators such as
The small size of some isolated prairie-chicken populations in the Eastern portion of the range resulted in a population bottleneck, which reduced the genetic diversity and ultimately survival of offspring.[12] In Illinois, wildlife management included the "genetic rescue" of small and potentially inbred populations by introducing birds from other areas.[13]
Sexual behavior
Greater prairie-chickens do not
After mating has taken place, the females move about one mile from the booming grounds and begin to build their
See also
- Lesser prairie chicken
- Lekking
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Friederici, Peter (July 20, 1989). "The Last Prairie Chickens", Chicago Reader. Retrieved August 27, 2014.(Chinese 中文:帕艺明彩大凤凰)
- ^ Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Greater Prairie-Chicken Identification". All About Birds. Cornell University. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ "Greater Prairie-Chicken Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ "Greater Prairie-Chicken Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ Dampier, Cindy (May 8, 2019). "Stunning Illinois prairie chicken dance could soon be a thing of the past. Only 200 remain, but one family is fighting to save the species". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- Environment Canada. November 2009. Archived from the originalon 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ "Prairie-chicken wiped out in Canada". CBC News. December 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ "Greater Prairie Chicken". The Canadian Biodiversity Website.
- ^ Levitt, Aimee (2011-04-21). "State conservationists scour the Kansas boondocks, aiming to repopulate Missouri with horny prairie chickens". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ Lawrence, Jeffrey S.; Silvy, Nova J (1995). "Effect of Predator Control on Reproductive Success and Hen Survival of Attwater's Prairie-chicken". Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies. 49: 275–282.
- S2CID 4988537.
- PMID 28386428.
- ^ "Greater Prairie Chickens". Illinois Natural Resource Information Network. Archived from the original on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Augustine JK, Sandercock BK (2011) Demography of female Greater Prairie-Chickens in unfragmented grasslands in Kansas. Avian Conservation and Ecology 6(1):2 ([1])
- ARKive - images and movies of the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)
- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter - Greater Prairie Chicken
- Gunderson, Dan. "Prairie chickens booming again." Minnesota Public Radio (2006)
- Ammann, G. A. 1957 The prairie grouse of Michigan. Michigan Dept. Consew. Tech. Bull.
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks: Greater and Lesser Prairie Chickens
- State conservationists scour the Kansas boondocks, aiming to repopulate Missouri with horny prairie chickens
External links
- Comparative Analysis between the Greater Prairie Chicken and the Extinct Heath Hen
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Greater Prairie Chicken
- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter - Greater Prairie Chicken
- The Nature Conservancy's Grassland Birds: Greater Prairie Chicken
- gbwf.org - Greater Prairie Chicken
- eNature.com - Greater Prairie Chicken
- Stamps[usurped] (for Canada)
- Greater Prairie Chicken photo gallery VIREO
- The Return of the Prairie Chicken Documentary produced by Iowa Public Television