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Greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska
Greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska. Vulnerable (IUCN, 2017).
The males inflate their golden yellow air sacs, erect their neck feathers, and vocalize when they are on the booming grounds. Every now and then they will fly up above the vegetation to let other males and the females know where they are and that they are fit. This was the moment to photograph them as the tall grasses and shrubs typically blocked a clear view of their head and air sacks when they were on the ground. Here we see two males (one in the foreground and one in the background) fly up and vocalize at the same time.
Click here to view more images of the greater prairie chickens.
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