Prairie hen, 19th century artwork. Identified in the text accompanying publication in 1895 as Tympanuchus americanus but now known as Tympanuchus cupido, this bird is an example of a prairie hen, a ground-dwelling bird found in North America that had been extensively hunted as food by colonists since the 17th century. Prairie hens were once found in large numbers, but most species are critically endangered or have become extinct. Artwork published in The Royal Natural History, volume 4 (1895), edited by the English naturalist Richard Lydekker (1849-1915).