Martlia's Vineyard, tlio last rcf\ii;i <ii ilir Immih inn I'hr ininicdinlr si-cnc is tin' iirst- 

 ing site studied for reju'oductioti. with iirsi .iiul liinls. in iln' Aiiii'i-icnii Muvcmii. ( S(>e 

 dctiiil on imtri' "JSO) 



The Heath Hen of Marthas Vineyard 



I'.v !•: 1) W A KM) now E V () R R r S II 



Slate OrnitlioloKist of JNIassacluisetts 



AW IDl] plain covered with diniiiin- 

 live leafless shrubby oaks and 

 L low liiishos. with stunted ])iii('s 

 showiiii;- licre and there; to the west 

 low rolh'ni;- liills; to the south on the 

 far horizon the wide Atlantic : such is 

 the prospect on an April morning- from 

 the fire tower on the ]ilains of ]\Iartha's 

 Vincvaril wlien^ the few remainin,u' 

 heath hens now makf ihcir last stand. 

 Here in the gray dawn a strange, weird 

 stnmd fills the air. It swells and dies 

 u]ion the ear. l)ut never rises or falls. 

 and becomes intermittent or ceases only 

 when the sun rides up the sky. Appar- 

 ently it is not a vocal effort. It is 

 neither whistle nor call : there is no 

 other sound quite like it in natni'c. One 

 iriight imagine it the wail of the wind 

 si)irit. hut no man nnderstands jnst 

 what it is or how it is made. We know 

 only that it emanates from strutting. 

 (laiieing lieath cocks, and is one of their 

 e\istoinai'\' mating sounds. Ileanl t'l-oni 

 a di.-tanee. l)orne on the sea wind, it 

 swells to tlie fnlliiess of a grand nnder- 

 tone. ming-ling with the oi-dinary 

 nearer sounds of the rolling ])lain. 

 Like the trilling of the toads in a 

 million pools, like tlie morning ehorns 

 of liii'd >oni:- on a thousand hills, it is a 

 vital, \irile expi'essioii of the feeiinditv 



of old ^lofher Earth. It is a rnne of 

 i-e|)i-odnel ion. forctcUing the renewal 

 and limit i plication of the s|)ecies in the 

 coming spring awakening. It is a 

 pa'an of hope and joy. a foi'ernnnei- 

 of the pnlsating. vigoi'ons life of snni- 

 mei'. 



No satisfactory exjilanation has IxM'n 

 advaiu'ed regarding the means by 

 which this sound is pi'odueeij. As we 

 listen to its volume the wonder grows; 

 fifty birds seem to make noise enough 

 for a thonsand, and this tliey do ap- 

 parently without opening their months 

 or using their vocal organs. The sound 

 mav he heard under favoi'alde condi- 

 tions foi- about two nules. Some futnr;' 

 invest igatoi" may solve the I'iddle of its 

 ju'oduction. 



The heath hen is the eastern form of 

 the ])i'aii-ie chicken. It is snuiller and 

 ruihlier or rustier abo\e ihan its west- 

 ern congener and much less white be- 

 low; its tarsi are both relatively ami 

 actnally shorter; the rigid feathers of 

 the neck- tufts are more acutely jiointed 

 and fewer in number. Foi-merly the 

 heath ben was abundant in suitable 

 localities in Xew l^nuland and the 

 Middli' States east of the .\|i|ialachian 

 Mountaiiw and south ti> I'ennsyl vania. 

 It mav have e.xtendecl farther west. 



With illustrations from i)hotoKra|>lis from life li\ Dr. (ieorsfe \V. I'ieUl. 



279 



