They also provide food for birds and other prairie animals, and thus are essential for a sustainable pra irie food chain. Prairie amphibians are secretive, and people rarely see them. Smallmouth and tiger salamanders breed in early spring and spend most of their lives underground. Prairie toads and frogs include the Great Plains narrowmouth toad, western chorus frog, northern crawfish frog and plains leopard frog. These amphibians breed in fishless pools and conceal themselves underground in grass thatch, or, in the case of the crawfish frog, in abandoned crawfish burrows.
Birds are the most visible of our prairie animals.
Other birds common to prairies are upland sandpipers, grasshopper sparrows, Henslow's sparrows and scissor-tailed flycatchers. Prairie streams harbor significant aquatic life. Of Missouri's 32 crayfish species, seven occur in prairie streams. These animals are active mostly at night and spend most of the day in under-ground burrows, safely away from birds and other predators. Rabbits, badgers, coyote and white-tailed deer also live on prairies.