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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
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
As a naturalist, Hornaday had witnessed the extinction of other victims of American progress: the passenger pigeon, the Audubon bighorn sheep, and the heath hen.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 26 Oct. 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
By that time two other American species faced their imminent demise: the once-abundant passenger pigeon and the heath hen, a grouse-like bird that lived along the Eastern seaboard.
—Jennie Erin Smith, WSJ, 12 Apr. 2019
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Word History
First Known Use
1644, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near heath hen
Cite this Entry
“Heath hen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heath%20hen. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
heath hen
noun
: an extinct grouse of the northeastern U.S. related to the prairie chicken
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