250 Bird - Lore 



In 1877, foxes and coons were introduced for sport and later liberated from 

 spite, but it is probable that these have now been exterm'nated, and at present 

 the chief checks to the increase of the Heath Hen are (i) the forest fires, which 

 in recent years have swept large areas of the breeding grounds almost annually, 

 usually during the nesting period; (2) cats, whether kept or abandoned by the 

 summer visitors, feed upon the young Heath Hen, Terns and other birds; (3) cer- 

 tain species of hawks, notably the Goshawk, are known to kill considerable 

 numbers of adult Grouse; (4) with the increase of poultry raising on the islands, 

 particularly of the Turkey, there is danger of the introduction of enteric diseases, 

 notably "the black head," caused by the internal parasite Amoeba melcegridis, 

 which is equally fatal to Turkeys, Ruffed Grouse and Quail, but which is also 

 spread by domestic fowls. 



About 1813 the Heath Hen disappeared from the district around Springfield, 

 Massachusetts. In 1824 it was reported as no longer common around Boston. 

 Cape Cod was the last stand on the mainland. In 1831 the ' Grouse or Heath Hen' 

 had become so reduced in numbers that a law was passed making a close season 

 from March i, to September i. In spite of this, the decline continued. Chapter 

 170, Acts of 1837, made a close season of four years upon this bird, which, by 

 Chapter 7, Acts of 1841, was extended for five years. These acts, however, per- 

 mitted any town to suspend this law in that town for such a period as they deemed 

 expedient. Some towns took advantage of this to secure special privileges for 

 the inhabitants of that town, e. g. Tisbury, on May 6, 1842, "Voted that the Law 

 for the Preservation of the Grouse or Heath Hen be so far suspended in the Town 

 •of Tisbury as to allow the inhabitants of said town to kill, take or sell Grouse 

 or Heath Hens from the first day of December to the tenth day of December inclu- 

 sive, provided they hunt them without the aid of dogs." The action of a subse- 

 quent town indicates that the decline in numbers was rapid. On April i, 1850, 

 the same town of Tisbury voted to suspend this law so as to permit the hunting 

 (without dogs) of these birds on the "12 and 13 of November next." (Perhaps 

 for the purpose of providing a substitute for the Thanksgiving Turkey.) From 

 this period to i9'^5 there were no systematic attempts to enforce the law. The 

 number of birds killed usually equaled or frequently exceeded the annual in- 

 crease. The islanders resented the intrusion of non-resident hunters, but many 

 birds were killed by rabbit hunters and by duck hunters crossing the island to the 

 ducking stands on the south shore. Some birds were taken by collectors, and 

 these skins, supplemented by others bearing fraudulent data, were disposed of 

 •extensively to museums and natural history stores. 



During all this period, however, there was kept alive the feeling of local pride 

 in the Heath Hen as a peculiar possession of Martha's Vineyard. It has been even 

 stated that sentiments wellnigh voodoo-like in tendency were current on the 

 island, — e. g., that a boy must eat Heath Hen before reaching a certain age. The 

 writer, however, from careful inquiry, is of the opinion that there is no basis for 

 such statements. 



