HEATH HEN - PART 1

The Heath Hen is an interesting creature and its story is one  of my personal favorites, so the next several posts will be devoted to it.  It was one of the first species to be protected by Americans, though for many reasons efforts failed (see tomorrow's timeline).

 The Heath Hen raises the question about what makes an animal unique and a species of its own.  Scientists ran DNA testing on preserved Heath Hens with conflicting results.

 There are 3 different results from the DNA testing.
1) It was its own distinct species.
2) It was a subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken.
3) It was a subspecies of the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

 Regardless, the Heath Hen was a chicken sized member of the grouse family that once thrived from Virginia to New Hampshire.  It was 17 inches long and about 2 pounds. They were were probably even on the menu for the first Thanksgiving, not wild turkey.  In colonial times, they were a "poor man's food".  Servants would actually ask to have something to eat besides heath hens as part of their labor agreements.  They could even be seen in Boston Common.

 Like the Prairie Chicken still remaining today, Heath Hen males would put on elaborate courtship displays in an open area known as a "lekking ground".  Males would lower their heads and raise their pinnae (long pointed feathers on their neck) and inflate their neck sacks and create a "booming" sound.  They would then battle one another to impress the females and claim their territory.  People would come to Martha's Vineyard each year to watch the remaining population duke it out.

“Booming Ben” was the last heath hen to strut his stuff before disappearing March 11, 1932, which is the Heath Hen's Extinction Date. 
People tried to replace the extinct heath hens with greater prairie chickens, but all attempts failed to be fruitful.

 Additional Resources:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOFphkQnRqE
(real footage of Heath Hens for Vineyard Gazette from 1927)

Male Heath Hen display from 1900
Image from Wikipedia



Picture from Boston Museum of Science


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