Prairie chickens on the Sheyenne National Grasslands: September 18, 1987; Crookston, Minnesota

Lek habitat suitability for the sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi) on the Northern Great Plains

“…Leks as display grounds rely on visibility and detectability to be seen by passing females [ 48 ]; the vegetation on the lek itself often gets trampled down by the dancing displays [ 49 ]. Based on our field surveys and previous work, sharp-tailed grouse tend to choose hills as the site of their leks [ 50 ] but in relatively flat areas. By lekking in relatively flat areas, and choosing the few hills available, males can effectively create a stage to broadcast their displays to prospective females in the area.…”

Threatened, endangered, and vulnerable species of terrestrial vertebrates in the Rocky Mountain Region

“…Excessive hunting, habitat destruction, and agricultural conversion have eliminated prairie chickens from most of their former range Oohnsgard and Wood 1968}. The greater prairie chicken (Tympanachus cupido) now occurs locally in virgin grasslands of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and Kansas (Hamerstrom and Hamerstrom 1961, Buhnerkemper et al 1984, Bjugstad 1988, while the lesser prairie chicken (T. pallidicinctus) occurs primarily in Texas with small populations in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and southeastern Colorado (Copelin 1963). Lesser prairie chicken is state-listed as threatened in Colorado and extinct in Nebraska, and greater prairie chicken is listed as endangered in Colorado.…”