8 
sects, leaves, seeds and wild berries, in a country where the absence 
of foxes and raccoons reduced the numbers of its enemies practically 
to cats, men, skunks, field mice and rarely some species of hawks, the 
problem of maintaining and bringing back the bird to its former abun- 
dance seems practicable. 
Of the total number, twenty-one, which we observed on May 1 and 
2, twenty were plainly male; of the sex of one we were uncertain. 
The following is a portion of the report of William Hazen 
Gates of Williamstown, Mass., who worked with the commis- 
sioners in studying the habits of the heath hen for the purpose 
of securing information which might be of service in artificially 
propagating the species: — 
On May 31, while wandering across the plains, three heath hens 
were started, and each taking wing flew nearly out of sight before 
alighting. As I watched the birds, a call, resembling to a slight degree 
that of an ordinary barnyard cock calling to the hens, was heard not 
far distant. The place was noted as nearly as possible, and then cau- 
tiously I made my way there. When the place was reached I looked 
for birds, but could see none. JI then sat down and determined to wait, 
in order to see if any birds could be heard. The ground was covered 
with leaves, so the least stir would have been heard. I listened and 
also looked for signs of anything moving, but none appeared. I sat 
there for fully twenty minutes, and hearing nothing concluded that 
either there were no birds or else they had gone as I approached. 
As I rose a bird flew up within twenty feet of where I had been watch- 
ing. The bird had been within sight all the while, but probably had 
crouched in the leaves and remained invisible. It would have been 
interesting to note how much longer the bird would have stayed in 
this position without moving. Another bird was started some fifty 
feet from this one. 
On this same day the toots of one or more heath hens were heard 
between half-past 4 and 5 am. The birds are early risers and late 
bed-goers. Once they were heard to toot at 3.30 a.m., or about an hour 
before sunrise; and several times their call note was heard as early 
as this. It is probable, though, that they do not begin to stir quite 
so early, beginning their breakfasting about sunrise or a little earlier. 
The middle of the day is generally spent in the shade, or in dusting 
in the sand in the roads. Late in the afternoon, as the air begins to 
cool, they take to feeding again, and can be seen in the open fields. 
They will often feed till nearly an hour after sundown. I do not know 
whether they roost in the low shrubbery or on the ground at night. 
Mother birds with young, however, stay on the ground, but it is likely 
