heath hen

American  

[heeth hen] / ˈhiθ ˌhɛn /

noun

1. an American gallinaceous bird, Tympanuchus cupido cupido, closely related to the prairie chicken and once a common inhabitant of coastal heaths from New Hampshire to Virginia: extensively hunted, especially during the Colonial period, the heath hen has been regarded extinct since 1932.

2. the female of the black grouse.

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heath hen British  

noun

1. another name for greyhen

2. a recently extinct variety of the prairie chicken

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Etymology

Origin of heath hen

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

McGrain’s subjects have included, among others, the passenger pigeon, the great auk, the Labrador duck, the heath hen, and the Carolina parakeet.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 14, 2018

Unlike the passenger pigeon, the heath hen had a few efforts to save it, including banning hunting and creating a sanctuary in the Vineyard in the early 1900s.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2014

That’s because wiping out the passenger pigeon, the heath hen, the Tasmanian tiger, and so on, as regrettable as these events were, wasn’t the real mistake.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2014

“Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America” An exhibition of specimens and illustrations of extinct birds includes the passenger pigeon, heath hen, great auk and Carolina parakeet.

From Washington Post

Connecticut: Passenger pigeon, Eskimo curlew, great auk, Labrador duck, upland plover, heath hen, wild turkey; puma, gray wolf, Canada lynx, black bear, elk.

From Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation by Hornaday, William Temple