mad@descartes.math.purdue.edu (Michael A. Dritschel) (08/22/90)
I live in a farmhouse surrounded by cornfields near West Lafayette, Indiana (northwest part of the state). This morning I saw a group of birds that when startled, flew up out of the cornfield adjacent to the yard and landed nearby. They looked a lot like chickens from a distance. With a spotting scope I could make out quite a bit of detail. The plumage was a rich brown, the margins of the feathers on the back and wings had dark margins with a lighter interior. The tails were short, rounded, and dark brown to almost black. One of the birds had a dark strip running down part of its neck. They walked about some in the yard and slowly made their way back into the corn field. So far the description fits that of the greater prairie chicken. However, the various bird books I have (eg. Peterson's for the Eastern U.S.) say that these birds have a distinctive barred pattern, especially across the breast, and this was not the case with the birds I saw. Looking in the 3 volume Audobon guide, the pictue of the greater prairie chicken is the one that most closely matches what I saw, again with the excepton noted. Other questions I have include whether a corn field (with 7-8 ft. corn plants) would be the proper habitat for these birds. Also, the range map in Peterson's doesn't show them as being in this area, though the one in the Audobon guide seems to include this part of Indiana. Any comments from observers more familiar with this species are appreciated. Michael Dritschel mad@math.purdue.edu