Gotta fight that other Prairie Chicken
by Judi Dressler
Title
Gotta fight that other Prairie Chicken
Artist
Judi Dressler
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
I was in my blind on the lek just after 5 a.m., and even though it was pitch dark, I could hear the low booming sounds of the male Greater Prairie Chickens already doing their mating dance. The males are in full breeding plumage and are quite beautiful. Every spring, these amazing birds do their wonderful mating dance to entice the nearby females, trying to out-compete their neighbors. As part of this, lots of disputes break out among the males. This particular bird was flying over and calling to another male bird nearby, ready to fight him over a dispute, probably regarding a nearby female.
Few performances in the bird world are more memorable than the dawn display of Greater Prairie-Chickens at their booming ground, or lek—the traditional spot where males dance, call, and try to impress females with their vigor. When displaying, the males erect earlike plumes on the head and blow up bright orange air sacs on the neck, transforming themselves from brownish chickenlike birds into brightly colored performers, all the while drumming with their feet and producing whooping and cackling calls. Today the prairie-chickens are quite uncommon and localized; the race on the Atlantic seaboard, called the Heath Hen, became extinct in 1932. Greater Prairie-Chickens still thrive on a few areas of native grassland in the midwest.
Photo taken on April 10, 2020, in Eastern Colorado.
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Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include greater prairie chickens, prairie chickens, lek, dawn, breeding plumage, flying, in flight, calling, grasslands, prairie, colorado, chickens, lekking, tympanuchus cupido, galliformes, phasianidae, endangered, game birds, birds, wild, wildlife, photo, photograph, photography, dressler, and judi dressler.
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April 17th, 2020
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Viewed 1,744 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/25/2024 at 10:53 AM
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Comments (67)
Christopher James
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group l/f/p
Don Columbus
Congratulations Judi, your work is Featured in "Birds In Focus" I invite you to place it in the group's "2020 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet
Debra Martz
Fantastic stop action, Judi! Congratulations on your well deserved Dawn's Delight recognition in Wild Birds of the World group!!
Jan Mulherin
Congratulations!! This stunning image has been selected to be featured for the week in the “Art for Ever with You” Group Home Page. You are welcome to add a preview of this featured image to the group’s discussion post titled “2020 May: Stunning Group Featured Images and Thank-you’s” for a permanent display within the group, to share this achievement with others. Also feel free to post your feature on our group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/296998814248643/ Thank you for your participation in the group! ~Jan (May 1, 2020)
Morris Finkelstein
Fabulous photograph with great timing, colors, clarity, and action, Judi! Congratulations on your "Dawn's Delights" selection! F/L
HH Photography of Florida
Love the expression. Outstanding in-flight, Judi. Congratulations for being chosen as a Dawn’s Dellghts in the Wild Birds of the World group. L/tw
Dawn Currie
Congratulations on being named among ‘Dawn’s Delights’ this week. This image has that extra something special that makes it an extraordinary image. The expression, sense of movement, and title all contribute to the visual storytelling!
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