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Article: PRAIRIE CHICKENS GET NEW DANCE PARTNERS MINNESOTA BIRDS ADDED TO HELP GENETIC DIVERSITY.(SPORTS)
- Article from:
- The Capital Times
- Article date:
- April 18, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Capital Newspapers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Tim Eisele Special to The Capital Times
Inflated orange air sacs, long neck feathers held erect, bright yellow "eyebrows" and a full tail-fan, are all integral parts of a dance on the central Wisconsin grasslands.
The dance is that of the greater prairie chicken, a bird that is native to Wisconsin. Originally found in the southern counties, following logging its range expanded and at one time the birds were found in every county of the state. Currently the grouse are confined to grasslands in the central part of Wisconsin.
Prairie chickens need large expanses of short grass prairies and, thanks to the efforts of groups such as the Dane ...