High priority grassland birds such as Greater Prairie-Chicken, Henslow’s Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Grasshopper Sparrow typically require large expanses of open grasslands with a minimum amount of woody vegetation before they are attracted to a given site and before reproductive success is adequate to sustain local populations.

Grassland birds were probably most abundant historically in the prairie and shrub-prairie dominated landscapes of the Springfield Plateau in the western Ozarks, and in areas with large expanses of barrens (prairies with scattered trees) in the central and southern portion of the Interior Low Plateaus.

Vast expanses of those grassland landscapes have been converted to cropland or non-native grass pastures. Fire suppression has allowed other areas to become overgrown with woody vegetation. Nevertheless, opportunities exist to restore and enhance grassland habitat across relatively large landscapes.

Grassland Habitat Projects

Grass-Shrubland Bird Assessment
Northern Bobwhite Conservation