grey hen

plural grey hens · alternative greyhen · alternative grayhen · alternative gray hen

1. A female of the black grouse, Lyrurus tetrix.

   I heard a grey hen cackling among the ling[.]

   1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 28

   1 more example

   That the British Greyhen differs from the typical Scandinavian bird (Lyrurus t. tetrix) has for some years been suspected by Witherby, who has been waiting to obtain sufficient material before coming to a definite conclusion. Recently Lönnberg, on comparing a Scottish killed Greyhen with Swedish birds, also noticed the differences between them.

   1913, H.F. Witherby, Einar Lönnberg, “The British Black Grouse”, in British Birds Journal, volume 6, page 270

   Synonyms: heath hen

2. historicalA large stone bottle for liquor.