148 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



once dispersed throughout the United States ; at present it is found 

 especially common in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, 

 Texas and Louisiana, Middle and Eastern Kansas and Nebraska. It 

 is a rare resident in Northwestern Ohio, and probably breeds. In 

 Kansas the birds begin laying the last of April. The nest is placed 

 on the ground in the thick prairie grass, and at the foot of bushes on 

 the barren ground ; a hollow is scratched in the soil and sparingly 

 lined with grasses and a few feathers. The eggs are usually eight to 

 twelve in number, but frequently more are laid. Mr. L. Jones states 

 that in Iowa high or low lands are resorted to for breeding grounds, 

 and little or no attempt is made at concealing the nest. 



The eggs are deposited by May ist. In Nebraska the eggs are 

 laid in the latter part of April. These are light drab or dull bufiFy, 

 sometimes with an olive hue, and occasionally sprinkled with brown ; 

 their form is rather oval; average size 1.68 x 1.25. 



306. Tympanuclius cupido (Linn.) [477, /ar/.] 



Heath Hen. 



Hab. Island of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. 



The light colored Prairie Hen of the Western prairies formerly 

 had a smaller, darker, and redder eastern representative, which was 

 originally distributed throughout Long Island, New Jersey, Eastern 

 Pennsylvania and Virginia. Perhaps the last of this race still lin- 

 ger at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and a wide range of terri- 

 tory now separates it from its Western cousins. 



Mr. Brewster states that it is common on Martha's Vineyard, 

 where it is confined to the woods, haunting oak scrub by preference, 

 feeding largely on acorns. Being strictly protected by law, there is, 

 according to the best evidence at hand, no present danger of the 

 colony being exterminated.* 



The eggs are described by Mr. Capen from a manuscript by Mr. 

 Maynard : " They are regularly oval in form, all the specimens being 

 quite uniform in this respect. The color is a yellowish-green of a 

 peculiar shade, quite different from the more decided greenish-brown 

 seen in the Western species, from which the eggs now at hand also 

 differ in being unspotted. There is little variation in the dimensions 

 of all six, the average measurements being 1.72 by 1.27 inches." Mr. 

 Capen, in his beautiful work, also figures an egg from this set.f 



*-' See William Brewster's article on The Heath Hen in Massachusetts; Auk, II, 80-84. 

 t Oology of New England: Page 82, Plate XXIV, Fig. 4. 



