heath hen
noun
: a now extinct grouse (Tympanuchus cupido cupido) of the northeastern U.S. compare prairie chicken
Examples of heath hen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In this way, the loss of the heath hen helped shape a more hopeful path for the species that followed.
—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
New Englanders watched the heath hen, an eastern prairie chicken, collapse to a single male who died in 1931, followed quickly by the extinction of the most colorful of all our birds, the Carolina parakeet.
—
TIME,
12 Dec. 2023
The closest living relative of the heath hen, which went extinct in the 1930s, is the greater prairie chicken.
—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
26 Oct. 2022
Novak works for the nonprofit Revive & Restore, which is exploring de-extinction for the passenger pigeon, heath hen, and woolly mammoth.
—
Ashley Braun,
Longreads,
24 Oct. 2019
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Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
New Englanders watched the heath hen, an eastern prairie chicken, collapse to a single male who died in 1931, followed quickly by the extinction of the most colorful of all our birds, the Carolina parakeet.
—
TIME,
12 Dec. 2023
The closest living relative of the heath hen, which went extinct in the 1930s, is the greater prairie chicken.
—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
26 Oct. 2022
Novak works for the nonprofit Revive & Restore, which is exploring de-extinction for the passenger pigeon, heath hen, and woolly mammoth.
—
Ashley Braun,
Longreads,
24 Oct. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Heath hen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heath%20hen. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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