Greater Prairie Chicken
Tympanuchus cupido

No, this ringtone is not the sound of people laughing! This is the sound made by the Greater Prairie Chicken on the plains of the Midwestern US during mating. The males of this grouse gather in small groups to show off for the females. Now only found in small patchy groups from South Dakota to Texas, their numbers overall are declining rapidly with some sub species either already recently extinct, and others highly endangered. In 1998 the US Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the Greater Prairie Chicken should be protected by the Endangered Species List, but declined to list it. Since Greater Prairie Chickens live exclusively in open savannah and prairie, the remnant habitat of these highly peculiar birds is fast disappearing under housing developments and shopping centers.

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