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:
ImageNameCommon nameSubspeciesDistribution
Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed grousenorth to Alaska, south to California and New Mexico, and east to Quebec, Canada
Tympanuchus cupidoGreater prairie chicken
  • Heath hen
  • Attwater's prairie chicken
Central U.S., formerly to the Atlantic coast
Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser prairie chickenwestern Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle including the Llano Estacado, eastern New Mexico, and southeastern Colorado.
All three are among the smaller grouse, from 40 to 43 cm in length. They are found in North America in different types of prairie. In courtship display on leks, males make hooting sounds and dance with the head extended straight forward, the tail up, and colorful neck sacks inflated. Tympanuchus comes from Ancient Greek roots and means "holding a drum"; it refers to the membranous neck sacks and the drum-like call of the greater prairie chicken.
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.