Chunky, hen-like bird, heavily barred above and below with dark brown, cinnamon, and pale buff; short rounded tail is black in males, barred in females; male has fleshy yellow-orange eye combs; both sexes have elongate dark neck feathers, longer and erected during courtship in males; males have inflatable golden sacs on each side of the neck.
For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see
Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.
Greater Prairie-Chicken differs from Lesser Prairie-Chicken in being slightly larger, darker, and more heavily barred below. They differ from Sharp-tailed Grouse in being barred below (rather than scaled/spotted) and in having a dark, rounded tail (instead of a mostly white, pointed one).
Direct Evidence of Breeding
Indirect Evidence of Breeding