THE HEATH HEN. 95 



"The farmers about Tisbury say that in spring the male Heath Hen makes 

 a booming or tooting noise. This, according to their descriptions must resem- 

 ble the love notes of the Western Pinnated Grouse. About sunrise, on warm 

 still mornings in May, several birds may be sometimes heard at once, appar- 

 ently answering one another. 



"During my stay at Martha's Vineyard, I obtained as many estimates as 

 possible of the number of Heath Hens which are believed to exist there at the 

 present time. My most trustworthy informants were, creditably, averse to 

 what was apparently mere idle guessing ; but when I questioned them, first as 

 to the extent of the region over which the birds ranged, and next as to how 

 many on the average could be found in a square mile within this region, they 

 answered readily enough, and even with some positiveness. As already stated 

 the total present range of the Heath Hen covers about 40 square miles. The 

 estimates of the average number of birds per mile varied from three to five, 

 giving from one hundred and twenty to two hundred birds for the total num- 

 ber. These estimates, it should be stated, relate to the number of birds 

 believed to have been left over from last winter. If these breed freely and 

 at all successfully, there should be a total of fully five hundred, young and 

 old together, at the beginning of the present autumn. When one considers 

 the limited area to which these birds are confined, it is evident that within this 

 area they must be reasonably abundant. I was assured that with the aid, 

 of a good dog it was not at all difficult to start twenty-five or thirty in a day, 

 and on one occasion eight were killed by two guns. This, however, can be 

 done only by those familiar with the country and the habits of the birds." 1 



The only eggs of the Heath Hen in any collection, as far as known to 

 me, are the set of six referred to above in Mr. Brewster's article, and now 

 in his cabinet. These were taken July 24, 1885, at Martha's Vineyard, 

 Massachusetts, and brought unblown to C. J. Maynard, from whom they were 

 procured. They contained large embryos, and were saved with considerable 

 difficulty. 



The specimen figured (No. 23945, U. S. National Museum collection, 

 PI. 3, Fig. 2) is one of these eggs. It is creamy buff in color, with a slight 

 greenish tint, ovate in form, and unspotted. It measures 44 by 33 millimetres. 



'Forest and Stream, September 25, 1890. 



