The Heath Hen 



251 



Since almost nothing has been recorded of the habits of the Heath Hen, the 

 following notes, made by the writer on the spot, may be of interest. 



Martha's Vineyard, May i, 1906 



At 6 p. M., we arrived at the point where we hoped to find traces of the Heath 

 Hen. In a cleared field about thirty rods from the road we distinctly saw two large 

 birds. On our nearer approach they squatted close, and their protective coloration 

 was so effective that, although we knew almost exactly the precise location of the 

 birds, we could not distinguish them. We crawled behind the nearest cover, and 



H'^^M^ 



THE HOME OF THE HEATH HEN 

 The men are looking at the nest shown in the next illustration. 

 Photographed by George W. Field 



remained motionless for perhaps ten minutes. At length the long shadows from 

 the descending sun enabled us to distinguish the birds as they crouched with head 

 close to the ground, among the very scanty vegetation. After another interval of 

 motionless activity on our part, one bird quickly arose and began feeding, appar- 

 ently without suspicion ; soon two more birds arose as if by magic from the ground. 

 Then began a most interesting series of antics. These birds were joined by five 

 others, coming in singly and on foot from the scrub in various directions. The 

 birds came frequently within forty paces of our hiding-place, and in one instance 

 alighted on a small oak tree twenty-three paces from our camera. While not near 



