Birds

The ground-dwelling bird's preferred grassland habitat overlaps with agricultural and energy-rich regions, putting the species' future in the hands of private landowners. In the second installment of a two-part series, StateImpact's Chloe Bennett-Steele reports on continued conservation efforts for the species.

The bird is likely the result of shifting weather patterns and climate change.

The bird dwells west of Lubbock, and in the tip of the Panhandle, north of Amarillo.

The decision by a Texas federal court removed the lesser prairie chicken of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling. The Trump administration had tried to reverse the designation, on behalf of livestock and oil producers.

Quail populations across Texas have been plummeting for decades. But now, a Texas Tech researcher and his team may have turned that trend around with the invention of a medicated wildlife feed that’s been approved by the FDA and is now commercially available.

Conservationists and cattle ranchers are working together to restore grassland for the lesser prairie chicken. The bird used to roam Kansas, but has lost most of its habitat to crop production.

Light pollution reduces the visibility of stars creating navigation issues for birds passing through. But it's not only a navigation issue.

Crocodiles and alligators, while not exactly native to West Texas, have been the focus of a Texas Tech biologist's recently published study that mapped…