The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the males having elongated feathers, called pinnae, erected to form what looks like ear-like structures.

Its range historically stretched west from Bayou Teche in Louisiana to the Nueces River in Texas,[6] possibly as far south as Tamaulipas, Mexico,[7] and inland for 75 mi (121 km).

[6] Today, populations exist in the wild at two locations: the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge near Eagle Lake, Texas, and on private lands in Goliad County.

The male emits a booming, "woo-woo" sound from his neck sack, causing it to inflate, and struts around to attract a female.

One of the major factors contributing to the habitat loss was the widespread planting, beginning in the early 1900s, of Chinese tallow trees (Triadica sebifera) to establish a soapmaking industry.

[9] Since that time, T. sebifera has proven to be an aggressive invader of the coastal grasslands, where it displaces the diverse native plant assemblage that was dominated by prairie grasses and forbs with dense, near-monospecific stands that significantly alter biotic and abiotic ecosystem processes.

[10] Coastal prairies have also declined with the invasion of non-native grasses such as Old World bluestems which create monocultures and change the structure of native grasslands.

Where once grazing plains bison and periodic wildfires due to lightning reduced brush, the birds now have difficulty making their way through thick undergrowth.

Through a partnership with the Houston Zoo,[17] a captive-breeding flock is residing on the grounds of the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center near Clear Lake.

[22] In 2023 Attwater's prairie-chicken was featured on a United States Postal Service Forever stamp as part of the Endangered Species set, based on a photograph from Joel Sartore's Photo Ark.