Lesser Prairie-Chicken
The lesser prairie-chicken is a medium-sized bird with a round body and small head, short legs, and broad, rounded wings.
About This Species
Colorado listed the lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species in 1973. Since the early 1990’s Colorado has experienced further declines. Many of Colorado's remaining birds are associated with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands in southeast Colorado - primarily on private lands in Prowers County. Small populations are found in sand sage habitat on private lands in Cheyenne County as well as the Comanche National Grasslands and surrounding private lands in Baca County.
A five-state conservation team is working to identify management actions that will conserve lesser prairie-chickens and their habitat over all of their currently-occupied range.
Threatened and Endangered
Federal and State Threatened
A federally and state listed threatened species, the lesser-prairie chicken is found in small fragmented populations in the grasslands of southeast Colorado. Unfortunately, populations have declined significantly in Colorado, largely due to long-term habitat loss and periods of extensive drought in the southeastern part of the state.
Conservation
Bringing the Lesser-Prairie Chicken Back to Colorado
The lesser prairie-chicken is an umbrella species, meaning that conservation efforts to protect them also protect their habitat and the other species that rely on it. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has implemented reintroduction efforts to bring the species back to Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat Improvement Program that provides funding to landowners wanting to voluntarily improve habitat conditions on their ground. Our funding is prioritized by proximity to active leks. We are now in the process of monitoring the released birds and hope that this effort will lead to the long-term persistence of lesser prairie-chickens in Colorado.
2007 to 2015
The lesser prairie-chicken population in southeast Colorado declined severely.
2016
Worked collaboratively with the state of Kansas to initiate a translocation project to recover the population
2019
Colorado Parks and Wildlife ended the capture operations
411
lesser prairie-chickens have been released on the Comanche National Grasslands in southeast Colorado and the Cimarron National Grasslands in southwest Kansas.
Research and Conservation
Researching and Protecting the Lesser-Prairie Chicken
Current research efforts for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken aims to understand the factors threatening habitat and to evaluate the effectiveness of various habitat improvement treatments.
More Information:
Physical Characteristics
Color
Lesser prairie-chickens are mostly brown in color with horizontal barring and short, rounded tails. They are lighter in color than the greater prairie-chicken.
Size
Lesser prairie-chickens are about the size of a small domestic chicken and are smaller than the greater prairie-chicken.
Range
Lesser prairie-chickens historically occupied the grasslands of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and southeastern Colorado. They can still be found in southeastern Colorado.
Habitat
These birds prefer sandy grassland areas that have an abundance of mid-grasses, sandsage and yucca.
Diet
Green leafy vegetation and forbs seeds are part of lesser prairie-chicken diet year around. Grasshoppers and other insects provide an important part of the birds' food supply during the summer. In winter, their diet includes seeds, leaves, grain and milo from agriculture lands.
Reproduction
Like the grouse, lesser prairie-chickens are polygamous. Males attract females to the leks with elaborate dancing displays, showing off their red air sacs and yellow combs. Hens typically lay 12 eggs that hatch in 24 to 26 days.
Threats to Species
As with other prairie grouse species, there are multiple reasons. Factors include conversion of native prairie landscapes to agricultural uses and energy development, livestock grazing, shrub control and eradication, altered fire regimes, insecticides, fragmentation cause by roads and other linear features such as predation, disease, hybridization and competition from ring-necked pheasants.
- Climate Change and Severe Weather
- Natural Factors
- Residential and Commercial Development
- Energy Development and Land Use