This article tested the cross-species application of the Affymetrix 600K Chicken SNP array in five species of North American prairie grouse (Centrocercus and Tympanuchus genera). This study study provided evidence for successful cross-species application of the chicken SNP array in grouse which diverged ca. 37 mya from the chicken lineage. As far as the authors are concerned, this is the first reported application of a SNP array in non-passerine birds, and it demonstrates the feasibility of using commercial SNP arrays in research on non-model bird species.