Okay..What the hell's a prairie chicken?!
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Tetraonidae
Genus: Tympanuchus
Species: Tympanuchus cupido
The Greater Prairie Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido, is a large bird in the grouse family. This North American species was once abundant, but has become extremely rare or extinct over much of its range due to habitat loss.
Adults of both sexes are 14 inches (350 mm), medium sized, stocky, and round-winged. Their tails are short, round, and dark. Adult males have yellow-orange comb over their eyes. Males also have dark, elongated head feathers that can be raised or lain along neck. A circular, orange unfeathered neck patch can be inflated while displaying. Adult females have shorter head feathers and lack the male's yellow comb and orange neck patch.
Greater prairie chickens do not migrate. Hens lay between 5 and 17 eggs per clutch and the eggs take between 23 and 24 days to hatch. Their diet consists primarily of seeds and fruit but during the summer they also eat insects and green plants. -Wikipedia
Underparts: Barred
Tail shape: Squared
Tail color: Dark
Prairie Chickens in action cool
Pictures>
Male Full Prairie Chicken>
Female Full Prairie Chicken>
Hen 1>
Hen 2>
Smaller Hen>
Hen 3>
MapMedia Videos>
Video 1>
Video 2, with calls. ( a bit long! ^__^; ) And...why a prairie chicken?
Momoko at 25%
