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Prairie Hen
Adult male--"Upper parts barred with rufous and black, and spotted with rufous; sides of the neck with tufts generally composed of ten or more narrow, stiffened black feathers marked with buffy and rufous, their ends rounded, the skin beneath these tufts bare; tail rounded, fuscous, the inner feathers somewhat mottled with ochraceous-buff, tip white, throat buffy, breast and belly white, evenly barred with black.
Adult female--"Similar, but the neck tufts much smaller and the tail barred with ochraceous or rufous. Length--18.00." (Chapman.)
Breeding Range--The prairies of the Mississippi Valley, east to Kentucky and western Ohio, and north to southern Manitoba.
The nest, which is placed in a slight hollow in the ground, is made of grasses and feathers; it is usually found in the prairie grass, "and at the foot of bushes on the barren ground." 8 to 14 eggs are laid; they are grayish buff, sometimes speckled with brown. Size--1.70 x 1.25.
The Prairie Hen is said to be now much less common throughout its eastern range than it was formerly, though it is still the common game bird of the Central States. The habits during the mating season have been well described by Colonel Goss. "They select a smooth open courtship ground (usually called a scratching ground), where the males assemble at the early dawn to vie with each other in courage and pompous display, uttering at the same time their love call, a loud booming noise; as soon as this is heard by the hen birds desirous of mating, they quietly put in an appearance, squat upon the ground, apparently indifferent observers, until claimed by victorious rivals."
They breed towards the end of April in Kansas and Nebraska. Incubation occupies from three to four weeks.