The Greater Prairie-Chicken is a large gamebird of shrubby and grassy habitats. It is perhaps best known for its leks, in which males assemble to display their feathers and colourful air sacs while dancing and emitting a sonorous boom to attract the attention of nearby females.


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The Greater Prairie-Chicken was formerly found year-round in grasslands throughout the Prairie provinces and as far east as southern Ontario, but has not been documented in Canada since 1987. There is no population goal for Greater Prairie-Chicken because it is extirpated from Canada and there is no Recovery Strategy under the Species at Risk Act.





Greater Prairie-Chicken has been listed as Extirpated in Canada since 1990 (COSEWIC, 2022). Populations in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario had disappeared by the 1950s or 1960s, and the last confirmed sightings in Canada were from Saskatchewan in the mid-1980s. Based on the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the global population, which is currently located entirely in the United States, has shown a large increase. However, despite the overall increase, the species has also been designated as extirpated in numerous states (COSEWIC, 2009).
There is no population goal for Greater Prairie-Chicken because it is extirpated from Canada and there is no Recovery Strategy under the Species at Risk Act.
Designation | Geographic Area | Status | CITATION |
---|---|---|---|
COSEWIC | Canada | Extirpated | |
IUCN | Global | Near Threatened | |
Species At Risk Act | Canada | Extirpated | |
Partners in Flight | Western Hemisphere | Red Watch List | |
Wild Species | Canada | Presumed extirpated |
- COSEWIC. 2009h. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Greater Prairie–Chicken Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 28 pp. https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/document/default_e.cfm?documentID=2019.
- COSEWIC. 2022b. COSEWIC rapid review of classification on the Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in Canada. https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/documents/1177.
The Greater Prairie-Chicken is a large gamebird of shrubby and grassy habitats. It is perhaps best known for its leks, in which males assemble to display their feathers and colourful air sacs while dancing and emitting a sonorous boom to attract the attention of nearby females.
Greater Prairie-Chicken was never frequently reported in Canada, and is now considered extirpated. It is non-migratory, so there is little seasonal pattern in observations.

