270 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



that has often been mistaken for a muffled blast of a tug boat or a 

 fog horn. Though I was well prepared for this deception, I must 

 admit that I did not at first associate this curious note with the 

 heath hen, for the light was yet dim and the fog obscured the view 

 of the bird. At 4.27 a heath hen appeared from the scrub oaks on 

 the south side of the meadow at a point relatively near the blind. 

 The calls of this individual at once stimulated the birds on the 

 western end of the field to greater activity in tooting. After 20 

 minutes a second and then a third bird came out of the scrub oaks 

 on the south, and for a time all were busily engaged in feeding. One 

 of the males flew to the roof of the blind, where he commanded a 

 splendid view of the field and his companions. Later it was found 

 that the resonant wooden roof proved to be an admirable place to 

 conduct their stamping and courtship performances. At 4.45 the 

 birds without any warning interrupted their feeding and began 

 " booming or tooting " at a point only a few yards from the blind. 

 The male on the roof joined his fellows on the ground. At this 

 close range the call resembled whhoo-doo-doooh. The note varied 

 somewhat in subsequent renditions and was variously interpreted 

 as whoo-oodul^doo-o-o-o-o, whoodle-dooh, or whoo-dooh-dooh. 

 The sound was accented on the second syllable or the first part of 

 the second and then gradually diminished in intensity. It required 

 from iy 2 to 3 seconds to render the different versions given above. 

 The number of calls a minute varied greatly, according to weather 

 conditions, temperature, time of day, and the season. The booming 

 was interspersed with henlike calls resembling cac, cac, cac, or oc, oc, 

 oc, oc, goc, (/oc, goc, goc, occasionally ending with a queer call that 

 sounded like auk-ae-e-e-e-e-ek. The males frequently leaped into 

 the air to a height of 3 or 4 feet and so doing uttered a piercing 

 rolling wrrrrrrrrb, followed by a curious indescribable laughterlike 

 sound. In this wild demonstration the bird completely reversed 

 its orientation in the air and landed on the ground, usually facing 

 in the opposite direction. This leaping and screaming seemed to 

 be augmented by similar performances of the birds on the other 

 side of the field, and it was an evident challenge to their fellow 

 antagonists. 



"At 5 a. m. the sun pierced the screen of fog and appeared like a 

 giant fiery ball above the eastern horizon. The morning chorus of 

 birds then rapidly diminished in volume, but the heath hen now 

 prepared for real action. One male from each group ran rapidly 

 toward each other in a defiant warlike attitude. When near together 

 they hesitated, lowered and waved their heads, leaped at each other, 

 and struck their wings vigorously as they lunged forward. A few 

 feathers flew, but no real harm was done, and they settled back in 



