10 
May 2, 1907, we counted a total of 21 birds; on January 11, 
1908, an exact count was impossible, but the number was not 
less than 55 nor more than 60. Since we were reasonably cer- 
tain that in each case the count was made at the places where 
the birds resort in greatest numbers, it furnishes some 
evidence that the birds have increased under the protec- 
tion which the best public opinion in the island has ex- 
tended to them. We are of the opinion, however, that the ratio 
of increase has not been so large as these figures indicate. 
In common with all the grouse species in the eastern States, 
the heath hen suffered from inclement weather during the 
nesting season, so that it is doubtful if the 1907 breeding season 
resulted in more than doubling the number of birds. Until 
late in February, the birds remain in large flocks, made up by 
the congregation of several families, resorting during pleasant 
weather to the feeding grounds, but during the coldest and 
stormiest days remaining in sheltered places. With the first ap- 
pearance of warmer weather, late in February, the booming 
calls of the mating season begin to be heard, and by the first of 
March the booming is heard regularly, the flocks break up 
and the mating season begins. The strutting antics described 
above begin about April 1 and cease about June 15, being at 
the height in late April and early May. Egg laying begins soon 
after May 15, the chicks are hatched in June, and in July, 
when about the size of quails, are capable of long flights when 
flushed. 
On June 4, a set of nine heath hen’s eggs was taken and placed 
under a bantam hen, selected for this purpose because she ap- 
peared to be unusually tractable; but on June 20, when one of 
the chicks hatched, it was immediately killed by the hen, which 
attacked it viciously before it was entirely out of the shell. The 
other heath hen’s eggs failed to hatch, and only one contained 
a well-developed embryo. After destroying the heath hen chick 
the hen was given some pheasant eggs, hatched them, and reared 
the chicks with all possible care. 
An injured heath hen was received from Martha’s Vineyard 
November 19, but refused to feed, and, though placed in a pen 
with a tamed ruffed grouse, lived only a week. 
The only nest known to the writer was found in oak woods 
