sage hen

the sage grouse, especially the female.

Origin of sage hen

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

A sage-hen crouching low in sand and shadowed by wait-a-bit thorn twigs is pretty well hidden.

The Red Mustang |William O. Stoddard
And it was not so small, either; the blue grouse is a large and heavy bird, next to the sage-hen the largest of our grouse.

With the Indians in the Rockies |James Willard Schultz
"When I saw him last he was on Sage-hen Flat swinging his revolver and cursing me," and he told the story.

The Captain of the Gray-Horse Troop |Hamlin Garland
The sage-hen is abundant on the eastern flank of the Sierra.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 |Various

He and the sage-hen lay still for a while, but it was not long before there was another arrival at the spring.

The Red Mustang |William O. Stoddard