"Sandhill dancer" is another name for the greater prairie-chicken.
The greater prairie-chicken is a species of field grouse (along with lesser prairie-chickens, dusky grouse, sage grouse, and others). Suitable habitat is very limited, but the sandhills of northeastern Colorado are near-perfect for this very special fowl The greater prairie-chicken has roamed the grasslands in extreme northeastern Colorado for hundreds of years, and, with good management and habitat protection, can continue to do so for hundreds more!
The discovery that their meat is edible and "tastes like chicken", combined with the advent of mechanized farm equipment, jeopardized these unique birds and brought them to near-extinction. In 1937, wildlife restrictions prohibited legal hunting of the greater prairie-chicken. This species remained on the endangered wildlife list until 1998, when their numbers finally allowed their removal from the list. In 2000, the population was approximately 8,000 birds.
What makes these birds so special? Prairie-chickens have a distinct feature that no other fowl possesses. The males have distinctive, bare, yellow-orange "sacs" on the sides of the throat that inflate during courtship. Air released from these sacs makes a unique "booming" sound that can be heard for quite a distance. The females also have these air sacs, but they are not as colorful, and do not boom as the males do.
The mating ritual is performed in an open area, called a lek, where vegetation is sparse and visibility is good. The males strut, stomp, boom, cackle, jump, and bow in an attempt to attract a female into their territory. When a female visits the lek, the entire ritual escalates to a frenzy as each male tries to out-perform the others. The majority of the actual mating is accomplished by the dominant males and usually occurs away from the lek.
While the greater prairie-chicken does not possess the colorful plumage of the ring-necked pheasant or the imposing stork-like build of the whooping crane, it does have a beauty all its own—plain brown feathers barred with dark brown and buff, blackish pinnate feathers on each side of the throat, a brownish head with a slight crest, dark tail, fleshy, orange-colored eyebrows, and feet feathered to the toes!
Greater prairie-chickens weigh an average of two pounds with the males slightly heavier than the females. Their length is about 17 inches, with a wingspan about 28 inches. Another peculiar fact about these birds is that their normal life span is only two or three years; undisturbed habitat and opportunities for reproduction are critical to their ability to replace a large percentage of the flock each year.
A very limited number of tours to see and hear the greater prairie-chickens boom on their leks near Wray, Colorado, is offered from late-March to late-April. The tours are made possible the Wray Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. For information about cost, times, and itinerary (the information is usually available in late-February), visit the Wray Chamber of Commerce's Web site or call 970/332-3484.
(Adapted from and with the permission of the Wray Chamber of Commerce.)