prairie chicken

noun

: 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

Illustration of prairie chicken

Examples of prairie chicken in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With the prairie getting plowed under and replaced almost completely by farmland, the prairie chicken lost its habitat, and is nearly extinct in Illinois. —Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2025

Its geographic isolation gave rise to a genetically distinct population that was smaller in size and redder in color than greater prairie chickens from the Midwest. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025

The Sad Story of Booming Ben, Last of the Heath Hens Rebecca Heisman March 2, 2016 Grassland-dwelling heath hen and prairie chicken populations across the country are in trouble. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025

Restoring Native Grasslands to Help Birds Olivia Box July 15, 2021 Grassland birds, such as the prairie chicken, plover, and bobolink, need a complex environment of varying structure, area, and grass types. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for prairie chicken

• indican
• likin
• quicken
• sicken
• stricken
• thicken

Kids Definition

prairie chicken

noun

: a grouse of the prairies of the central U.S. with the males having a patch of bare skin on either side of the neck which is inflated with air during courtship displays