BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Tympanuchus spp. | Prairie-Chickens 



TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : 
Age of Maturity - 1 year
Mating Season - mid-March through mid-May; males are polygamous
Nesting - about 14 days following mating, peaks in May; can nest
          more than once during season
Clutch - lays 12 to 14 eggs; precocial young hatch after 23 days
Life Span - probably survives no more than 5 years in the wild
Home Range - can be as large as 1,267 acres (506.8 ha) for males and
             577 acres (230.8 ha) for females
[21,26]


PREFERRED HABITAT : 
Greater prairie-chickens prefer shortgrass and midgrass prairies mixed
with tall grasses.  In these types they choose edges of midgrass and
tallgrass interfaces for day resting, and choose heavier shrub cover for
nesting.  Lesser prairie-chickens prefer shortgrass prairies intermixed
with shrubs, and sites with more dense cover [10].  Prairie-chickens of
both species prefer bluegrasses for nesting throughout their range.  The
ideal grass height for nesting is 11.8 inches (30 cm) [31].  A study in
Oklahoma showed that greater prairie-chickens tolerated an average of
2-inch (5 cm)-taller grass than lesser prairie-chickens [13].  In
Wisconsin, greater prairie-chickens preferred pastures, stubble fields,
and mowed hayfields for booming grounds, where they display and
establish territories before mating [29].  In Kansas, prairie-chickens
used sorghum fields during winter and forest edges on ridges during all
seasons [21].


COVER REQUIREMENTS : 
Prairie-chickens need open grasslands for brood rearing and feeding,
more open and shorter grasslands for booming grounds, and scattered
shrub thickets for protection from weather and predators [7,11,22].
Prairie-chickens seem to nest in the taller grasses (8 to 15 inches
[16.5-38 cm]) found within their ranges [5].  A stable winter food
source is more important for greater prairie-chickens than protection
against the cold.  Therefore, native grasslands mixed with small grain
agricultural fields are ideal habitat [6].  Adequate cover with 0.5 mile
of booming grounds is necessary because females tend to nest within this
distance.  Optimum cover for lesser prairie-chickens consists of
midgrass to tallgrass prairies for nesting and winter cover, mixed with
lower seral stage grasses for brood rearing and feeding [26].  They need
more shrubs for shade during the hot summer months than do greater
prairie-chickens [6].


FOOD HABITS : 
Adult prairie-chickens eat mostly seeds and greens of plants, while
chicks feed on insects for the first several months after hatching.
Studies in Oklahoma on adjacent ranges of lesser and greater prairie
chickens revealed surprising differences in the food plants selected
[13].  Greater prairie-chickens preferred western ragweed (Ambrosia
psilostachya), Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), sedge (Carex spp.),
lespedeza (Lespedeza stipulacea), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), and
goldenrod (Solidago spp.).  Lesser prairie-chickens preferred sand
sagebrush (Artemesia filifolia), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), sleepy
siline (Silene antirrhina), and sixweek fescue (Festuca octoflora).
Other food plants used by both species include corn (Zea mays), wheat
(Triticum spp.), rye (Secale spp.), alfalfa (Medicago spp.), buckwheat
(Eriogonum spp.), rose (Rosa spp.), birch (Betula spp.), aspen (Populus
spp.), elm (Almus spp.), hazelnut (Corylus spp.), oak (Quercus spp.),
sweetclover (Melilotus spp.), partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), broom
snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), and violet (Violet spp.) [5,11,22].


PREDATORS : 
Prairie-chicken predators include man; feral and domestic dogs (Canis
spp.); skunks and weasels (Mustelidae); red fox (Vulpes vulpes); raptors
(Accipitridae); crows, ravens, and magpies (Corvidae); and many species
of snake.


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Both greater and lesser prairie-chicken populations have declined
rapidly in this century due to habitat destruction and overharvesting
[11].  Now all populations are limited to isolated areas of their
historic range.  Lesser prairie-chickens are declining in Kansas from
overirrigation of the sandsage prairie [23].

Shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) rangelands in Texas and New Mexico are
often treated with the herbicide Tebuthiuron.  Untreated oak stands that
are allowed to grow and outcompete grasses will eventually be unsuitable
habitat for prairie-chickens.  However, as prairie-chickens do eat acorn
mast and use the oaks for shade, a mix of untreated and treated stands
can be a benefit to the birds [20].

Rotational, deferred, and moderately grazed pastures can also benefit
prairie-chickens.  Grazing that maintains mid-seral to climax grasses
will provide adequate cover and food [26].  Slightly heavier grazing can
maintain open spots for booming grounds [17].



REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Tympanuchus spp. | Prairie-Chickens