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Meet The ‘Horned' American Bird Last Seen On Martha's Vineyard 92 Years Ago — Now Lost To The World Forever
Birds, more than other animal groups, have had a horrific time with extinction, especially over the ... More past several hundred years. Here's one uniquely American example.
The extinct heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido) is historically interesting for a number of reasons, the first being that it is speculated to have been served at the Pilgrims' first thanksgiving.
This speculation makes some sense. Heath hens were abundant along the United States' northeastern shoreline in the 1600s. Odds are it would have been easier to round up a few heath hens to serve at dinner than wild turkeys, though turkeys wouldn't have been a big ask either.
In fact, heath hens came to be known as 'poor man's food' in the eighteenth century, as they were cheap and plentiful.
And, yet, by 1932, the species was gone. The story of the heath hen underscores an important ecological point: just because a species is plentiful doesn't mean it is impervious to extinction. Take the American passenger pigeon, for example – once among the most numerous birds on Earth, with flocks so vast they were said to darken the skies for hours in the 1800s. But by 1914, it too had vanished, wiped out by relentless hunting and widespread habitat loss.
(Sidebar: While humans have driven many bird species to extinction, the tables have occasionally turned. Meet four bird species known to attack humans – two with documented fatal consequences.)
Here's the unfortunate tale of the heath hen, and why it went extinct so quickly.
The heath hen, a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken, once thrived in the scrubby, coastal plains from Maine to Virginia. Its 'horns' – actually feathers on its head that males could raise during courtship displays – gave it a striking appearance.
In the spring, males would gather in leks and perform dramatic dances, puffing out orange air sacs on their necks and stomping their feet to show dominance and vitality. These 'booming grounds,' as they were often called, could be used for generations, sometimes over a century. In parts of their range, the spectacle became such a draw that it even attracted tourists.
A male greater prairie chicken in full spring display on the Midwestern prairie. The now-extinct ... More heath hen, once found along the eastern seaboard, performed similar courtship rituals on its own 'booming grounds' from New England to Virginia.
The heath hen was unique as the only member of the North American prairie chickens (genus Tympanuchus) found along the eastern seaboard. Its geographic isolation gave rise to a genetically distinct population that was smaller in size and redder in color than greater prairie chickens from the Midwest.
Sadly, the heath hen faced a rapid downfall. Overhunting was the first and most significant blow. By the early 1800s, the bird was already vanishing from much of its range. People hunted it with little restriction, often taking dozens in a day. Its reputation as cheap, easy protein made it a popular choice for colonists and later urban markets.
Hunting wasn't the only threat. As the northeastern United States industrialized, the bird's scrubby, fire-maintained habitat was replaced with farms, towns and roads. Fire suppression policies also allowed forests to grow denser, making them less suitable for the heath hen, and increasing the risk of devastating fires.
By the 1870s, the bird's range had contracted entirely to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. There, a small, isolated population struggled on for decades. Conservationists attempted to save it, even establishing a reserve, but it was too little, too late. Disease, harsh winters, fires, inbreeding, and predators all took their toll.
The final blow came quietly. By 1929, only one known heath hen remained: a lonely male named 'Booming Ben.' He continued his courtship displays in vain for three years, calling for a mate who would never arrive. After 1932, he was never seen again.
Today, the heath hen serves as a poignant reminder: even a species that seems secure can vanish within the span of a human lifetime.
But if there's a silver lining, it's that the effort to save the heath hen marked one of the earliest coordinated attempts to prevent the extinction of an American bird. Although it came too late, the lessons it offered helped lay the foundation for future conservation successes – like the recovery of the whooping crane, trumpeter swan and wood duck. In this way, the loss of the heath hen helped shape a more hopeful path for the species that followed.
Does thinking about the extinction of a species instantly change your mood? Take the Connectedness to Nature Scale to see where you stand on this unique personality dimension.
