Greater Prairie Chicken

(Tympanuchus cupido)

• Avicultural Data
• Images
• Bibliography
• Links

Other Names: Prairie Grouse, Pinnated Grouse

Range/Subspecies: The now extinct Heath Hen, Tympanuchus cupido cupido , was once found along the along the Atlantic coastal plains from New Hampshire to Virginia, the last report was on Martha's Vineyard Island in the 1930s; the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken T. c. attwateri was once found throughout the coastal plains of Texas and Louisana, but is now located in a few protected areas in Texas; the Greater Prairie Chicken T. c. pinnatus is found in a highly fragmented range in the north-central US.

Habitat: Tall grass prairie.

Status in Wild: The eastern race is now extinct and the southern race is very close. The majority of the habitat for the central race has been lost to agriculture and other development. Only a few states still harbor enough Prairie Chicken to allow for harvest and many states list as a protected species.

Avicultural Data

Status in Aviculture: This species is kept and bred in captivity, but is not common.

Click on thumbnails for larger views.

Photo Credits
(l to r): 1-3, Dan Synder.

• Johnsgard, P.A. 1983. The Grouse of the World. Croom Helm, London.
• Madge, S., McGowan, P. 2002. Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Links related to this species. Please note, links will open in a new window.

• Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge - One of the largest remnants of coastal prairie habitat remaining in southeast Texas and home to the Attwater's Prairie Chicken.
• Genetic evaluation of a proposed introduction: the case of the greater prairie chicken and the extinct heath hen - Molecular Ecology, Volume 13, Issue 7, Page 1759-1769, Jul 2004.
• Greater Prairie Chicken - ARKive species factsheet.
• Greater Prairie-Chicken - Mangoverde World Bird Guide Species Page; Images & Sounds.
• Greater & Lesser Prairie Chicken - From the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks.
• Tympanuchus cupido Images - Images of this species located at the Phasianidae group on flickr.
• Wikipedia - Greater Prairie Chicken - Wikipedia's species page.