Vol. 16, No. 3 
Page 3 
nest site and possibly mated with the hens responsible for these nests. Such 
small booming grounds occasionally occur and they are difficult to locate during 
booming ground surveys. 
The mean distance of 122 nests from the estimated centers of 10 booming grounds 
completely surrounded by nest cover was 275 yards. These nests tended to encircle 
the booming grounds in radial patterns. 
These data indicate that a 0.25-mile radius from a booming ground encompasses 
a vitally important segment of the reproductive habitat for the birds using a 
particular booming ground. Such zones surrounding display grounds are presumably 
not inviolate-exchanges of hens (and cocks) probably occur commonly between 
grounds. However, it is reasonable to assume that most cocks and hens are anchored 
to certain booming grounds and that the hens mated on a particular ground will 
nest closer to that ground than to a neighboring ground. Exchanges of prairie 
chickens between booming grounds must be in the minority and management must 
focus on the behavior of the majority. 
