prairie chicken

Definition of prairie chicken

: a grouse (Tympanuchus cupido) chiefly of the tallgrass prairies of the central U.S. with the male having yellowish-orange neck sacs which are inflated during courtship displays also : a closely related smaller grouse (T. pallidicinctus) having reddish neck sacs

Examples of prairie chicken in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The groups sued the federal government in June to force it to make a designation for the lesser prairie chicken and its habitats. — USA TODAY, "Fugitive pig, proverb library, sodium warnings: News from around our 50 states," 16 Sep. 2019 In southeast Colorado, leases have been proposed in some of the spots where lesser prairie chickens live. — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, "Critics of federal oil, gas leasing in Colorado focus on fate of fancy-dancing bird and public lands," 1 Sep. 2019 Leases are proposed in a part of southeastern Colorado where lesser prairie chickens live. — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, "State to ask Colorado BLM to defer action on some oil, gas leases proposed in wildlife habitat," 10 June 2019 State wildlife biologists in April caught lesser prairie chickens in Kansas and released them in southeast Colorado as part of a multi-year program to rebuild the bird’s population. — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, "State to ask Colorado BLM to defer action on some oil, gas leases proposed in wildlife habitat," 10 June 2019 All this human encroachment into grasslands imperils these rich habitats that animals, from cheetahs to caribou to prairie chickens, call home. — Natasha Daly, National Geographic, "Earth’s grasslands are vanishing. See the wildlife that calls them home.," 11 Apr. 2019 Great prairie chicken populations grew for the first time in decades (though more recent studies question the role of genetic rescue in this success), along with the Swedish adder, a venomous snake that had suffered from inbreeding. — Laura Poppick, Smithsonian, "Threatened Species? Science to the (Genetic) Rescue!," 27 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prairie chicken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for prairie chicken

Last Updated

13 Oct 2019

Time Traveler for prairie chicken

The first known use of prairie chicken was in 1832

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