Everyone knows that I am a fan of Sharon the birdchick. But here she has surpassed herself with a remarkable posting about the world's most glorious gallinaceous fowl - the North American prairie chicken. These fantastic creatures behave in such a gloriously absurd manner that I defy anyone to be able to watch the video embedded below without wanting to a) Shout Wayhay! b) Laugh very loudly or c) pick it up and cuddle it.
Or is it just me who has a complete obsession with chickens?
In addition the Lesser Prairie chicken, there is another species called the Greater Prairie chicken.
ReplyDeleteIts range was once quite extensive on the East Coast, where it was called the "heath hen." Its range may have once included the entire East Coast, but in historical times, it ranged from coastal New Hampshire to Northern Virginia.
There is some debate on whether the heath hen was its own species or was just a race of the Greater Prairie chicken.
We do know that it was adapted to the humid conditions of the East Coast, and, strangely, Greater prairie chickens do not seem to be able to thrive there. It is likely that they are simply unable to live in a coast environment. So we can never replace them with a Greater prairie chicken from the interior, as has been partially done with Florida panthers, when the Texas cougars were introduced to increase genetic diversity.