NT
Greater Prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2020 Near Threatened A3bcde
2016 Vulnerable A2bcde+3bcde+4bcde
2012 Vulnerable A2bcde+3bcde+4bcde
2008 Vulnerable A2b,c,d,e; A3b,c,d,e; A4b,c,d,e
2004 Vulnerable
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency low
Land-mass type continent
Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 1,990,000 km2 medium
Number of locations 11-100 -
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 360000 mature individuals medium estimated 2019
Population trend increasing medium estimated 2014-2024
Generation length 3.3 years - - -

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number 360,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2019).

Trend justification: Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey show that the species has undergone a non-significant annual increase of 7.79% between 2007 and 2017 (Pardieck et al. 2018). Assuming that population trends continue at a similar rate to the present day, the species was likely stable or increasing over the past ten years. Long-term trends (1966-2017) from Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count however show an annual decline of 0.87% in this species. This would equate to a reduction of 8.4% over ten years. It is here precautionarily assumed that the positive short-term trends are a result of targeted conservation action, including translocations, habitat restoration and local hunting bans (Bateson et al. 2014; Hardy et al. 2017; Adkins et al. 2019; Johnson et al. 2020), without which the species would rapidly meet the threshold for listing as threatened.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Canada extant native yes
USA extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
USA Bluestem Prairie-Buffalo River State Park IBA
USA Felton Prairie IBA
USA Flint Hills Region
USA Grand River Grasslands-05
USA Prairie Ridge State Natural Area - Jasper and Marion Units
USA Rothsay Prairie
USA Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
USA Twin Valley - Neal Prairie

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Forest Temperate major resident
Grassland Temperate major resident
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 7
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Rapid Declines Medium Impact: 7
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Species mortality
Energy production & mining Renewable energy Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Ovis aries Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Phasianus colchicus Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Competition
Pollution Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation
Transportation & service corridors Roads & railroads Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Negligible declines Low Impact: 4
Stresses
Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Greater Prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/greater-prairie-chicken-tympanuchus-cupido on 25/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 25/11/2024.