Tympanuchus
Tympanuchus is a small genus of birds in the grouse family. They are commonly referred to as prairie chickens. The genus contains three species:
Image | Name | Common name | Subspecies | Distribution |
Tympanuchus phasianellus | Sharp-tailed grouse | north to Alaska, south to California and New Mexico, and east to Quebec, Canada | ||
Tympanuchus cupido | Greater prairie chicken |
| Central U.S., formerly to the Atlantic coast | |
Tympanuchus pallidicinctus | Lesser prairie chicken | western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle including the Llano Estacado, eastern New Mexico, and southeastern Colorado. |
The two prairie chickens are particularly closely related and look extremely similar.
The extinct heath hen of the American East Coast, usually considered a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken, has been considered a separate species.