Hey, this is Floral Lichtman. You're listening to Science Friday.

What a bird known for its flamboyant courtship rituals can tell us about the Trump administration's approach to environmental policy and protections for endangered species.

We're talking about the saga of the lesser prairie chicken. This bird was granted endangered species

status in 2023, and now the Department of Interior is moving to revoke those protections.

Joining me now to discuss that story and other science stories from the week are Benji Jones,

environmental correspondent at Fox, based in New York City, and Science Friday producer Shoshana Bucksbaum.

Thanks for being here.

Hey, thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me on my inaugural guest on News Roundup.

Glad to have you both.

Benji, so there's been drama around the lesser prairie chicken.

Will you start by just introducing us to this bird?

Yes. This bird is a personal favorite of

mine. It is not like your typical charismatic avian species like a bald eagle or a falcon. It is pretty

bizarre looking. I love it already. So this bird is like the size of a football. The males start

doing this funny dance where they inflate these yellow combs above their eyes.

They erect these like tail feathers behind their heads.

And they also inflate these red sacks on their neck.

And then they just start stomping their feet.

It is so cool to watch.

And the sound is amazing too.

It's called booming.

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