Both deferred grazing without burning, and early spring grazing 

 with burning have advantages for prairie chickens, but of the 

 two, deferred grazing seems more desirable in that it provides * 

 improved conditions for nesting by the greater prairie chicken. 



Restocking 



In Kansas, all known large areas suitable for prairie chickens 

 have at least a few birds present. In general, animals are capable, 

 by natural increase, of stocking new range as rapidly as it becomes 

 suited to them. If, in the future, areas that seem suitable for prairie 

 chickens are not naturally stocked, by reason of their isolation, 

 stocking could best be done by trapping and transplanting wild 

 birds. Care should be taken to trap sufficient females, because ex- 

 perience has shown that they are more difficult to trap than are males. 



Summary and Recommendations 



1. Prairie chickens increased in numbers and extended their 

 range with the development of early agriculture in the Midwest. 



2. With the intensffication of agriculture and with excessive 

 hunting, the numbers and range of prairie chickens decreased. 



3. Since the time of the first reliable estimates of the numbers 

 of the greater prairie chicken, this species has fluctuated regularly 

 in numbers. In Kansas, the declines have been accentuated by 



open seasons. j 



4. Kansas is one of the four states having the largest number of 

 greater prairie chickens. 



5. The greater prairie chicken in Kansas is confined to areas 

 in which at least one-third of the land is in native grass, and is most 

 abundant where approximately two-thirds of the land is in native 

 grass. 



6. The reproductive success of prairie chickens is low, because 

 the reproductive period is short (late spring and early summer), 

 and because adverse weather conditions may be detrimental to 

 both eggs and young. The reproductive season seems to be the 

 most critical period of the year for the species. 



7. Weights of the greater prairie chicken and lengths of its 

 primaries are both different according to sex and within each sex 

 according to age, but neither weights nor lengths of primaries pro- 

 vide a sure means of distinguishing the sexes. Males average 

 heavier than females. 



8. Young of the greater prairie chicken can be aged by the con- 

 dition of the molt. 



[64] 



