Heath Hens Practically All Gone Despite Efforts, Dr. Gross Says.
The several causes of the practical extinction of the heath hen, a game bird closely resembling the grouse, were set forth by Dr. Alfred O. Gross of Bowdoin College, at a joint meeting of the Audubon Society and the Biological Society of Washington in the National Museum last night.
Dr. Gross called attention to the fact that they were formerly very numerous along the Atlantic seaboard, but that they are now threatened with extinction. In 1870, he said, the only representatives of the species that could be found in this country were on Martha’s Vinyard. Only about 150 of these birds were in existence in 1900, he said.
Stringent protective laws were then passed, and in 1916 nearly 2,000 of the birds were counted on the island. However, a fire in 1920 destroyed a great number and while on a visit to the island about a week ago. Dr. Gross said, he was able to count only about 35.
Dr. Gross also exhibited a number of slides showing wild life in the jungles of Panama.
Dr. T. S. Palmer, president of the Audubon Society, presided.
The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, April 11, 1926