Either of two species of North American grouse (genus Tympanuchus ) noted for lek displays (group courtship displays).
The greater prairie chicken is about 18 in. (45 cm) long and may weigh almost 2 lbs (1 kg). Its brown plumage is strongly barred below, and it has a short, rounded, dark tail. It occurs locally from Saskatchewan to coastal Texas and Louisiana; northernmost birds are somewhat migratory. The eastern subspecies, the heath hen, is extinct. The lesser prairie chicken, smaller and paler, inhabits the arid western central Great Plains. The sharp-tailed grouse ( Pedioecetes ) is locally called prairie chicken.