Lesser Prairie-Chicken

     The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is a Grouse species which is adapted to arid short-grass regions of the southern Great Plains of the United States. It’s closely related to its near relative, the Greater Prairie-Chicken, but differs mainly in being slightly smaller and paler.  

     The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is a ‘Gamebird’ of a sandy color with brown barred markings. The male has yellow wattles of bare skin above his eyes and red air sacs on his throat’s sides. He also has longer neck-plumes and is slightly larger than the female. The pale colors of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken provide a perfect camouflage in the sandy grasslands of its habitat.

     In April, male Lesser Prairie-Chickens compete for access to females via a lekking system. Following mating, the male takes no further part in the care of his offspring. The female Lesser Prairie-Chicken lays a clutch of 12 – 15 eggs in a nest hidden among the grass. She incubates them for around 22 – 24 days. Young Lesser Prairie-Chickens are able to make short flights at age of 1-2 weeks, but are not full-grown until they are several more weeks older.

 

Place of originThe USA
UsePreservation
Weight

Male: 684 – 813 g

female: 628 – 772 g

Egg colorWhitish to pale buff, finely speckled with brown and olive

 

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The male Lesser Prairie-Chicken by Larry Lamsa
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The male Lesser Prairie-Chicken by Always a birder!
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A female Lesser Prairie-Chicken and courting males by U.S. Department of Agriculture