Wisconsin's Prairie Chickens

Booming

Picture (3000x2423, 1123.6Kb)"In the April dawn, when the morning air is crisp and the sky lightness to a cool pink, open fields on Buena Vista Marsh come alive with wild voices and the sounds of stomping feet.  It is the annual mating ritual of the greater prairie chicken, an activity known as "booming."  This primitive ceremony pits bird against bird as male chickens stake out territory to attract hens for mating.  The performance takes its name from the distinctive sound made by the male chicken, a deep and resonant three-noted 'whoo, whoo, whoooooo' accompanied by whoops and cackles that signal territorial possession.  The loud booming call and ritualistic fighting of the birds as they jump, flutter and square off against each other is punctuated by the sounds of prairie chicken feet beating double time in a performance that inspired the species' scientific name, Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus,  or 'drummer of love'."

--This information is courtesy of the WDNR EEK! Website at http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/bird/prairiechicken.htm

 

Picture (800x574, 93.4Kb)Viewing

O
bservation blinds at Wisconsin's prairie chicken management sites offer researchers and hardy bird watchers the chance to witness the booming ritual.  April is the ideal time, and visitors can make arrangements through the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point by calling the Viewing Coordinator at (715)346-3259 or toll free at (877)269-6626.

 

Praire Chicken Collage