LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN Tympanuchus pallidicinctus (Ridgway) 



Order: GALLIFORMES Family: TETRAONIDAE 



Distinguishing characteristics : A hen-like bird , light brown above barred with black , 

 whitish below barred with black . Elongated feathers on sides of neck . Lighter in color 

 and slightly smaller than the greater prairie chicken. 



Present distribution : Resident locally in brush-grassland prairies, the shinnery oak 

 and sand sagebrush habitats of the high plains in southwestern Kansas , southeastern 

 Colorado, eastern New Mexico, Texas panhandle, and western Oklahoma. Very localized, 

 and much reduced or extirpated from large portions of its former range. Ideal habitat 

 is natural grassland interspersed with patches of shinnery oak . 



Former distribution : About same as present, but possibly extending further north and 

 east. 



Status : Decreasing and vulnerable . Populations fluctuate markedly . 



Estimated numbers : Populations in New Mexico estimated to fluctuate from 10,000 to 

 50.000 birds; Oklahoma 2,000 to 30,000 birds. 



Breeding rate in the wild : 11 to 13 eggs; about seven young per brood at six weeks 

 of age. 



Reasons for decline : Loss of broad expanse of undisturbed prairie grasslands resulting 

 from agriculture. 



Protective measures already taken : Studies by Oklahoma Cooperative Wildlife Research 

 Unit to learn requirements . No hunting presently permitted in Colorado . New Mexico 

 acquired about 23,000 acres of prairie chicken habitat, in 17 areas, more than 20 years 

 ago, and managed it by controlled grazing, supplemental planting and limited hunting. 

 Brush control where shinnery oak becomes so extensive that there is little grassland 

 found to increase numbers of these birds (Donaldson) . Inventory of present distribution 

 and population status in historical range made by Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. 



Measures proposed : Preservation of large blocks of grasslands where the species occurs. 



Number in captivity : None known. 



Breeding potential in captivity : Limited . 



References : 



Copelin, F. F. "The lesser prairie chicken in Oklahoma." 



Donaldson, D. D. 1969. Effect on lesser prairie chickens of brush control in 



western Oklahoma. Doctoral Thesis. Oklahoma State University. 

 Halloran, A. F. 1966. The changing world of the lesser prairie chicken. Spec. 



Report to Division of Wildlife Refuges. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. 



11 pp . and appendix . 



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