54 Wild Bird Guests 



cases are so reduced in numbers that they will 

 probably soon be extinct. Among these are the 

 trumpeter swan, the whooping crane, and the 

 Carolina paraquet. The last named is believed 

 by some authorities to be extinct already, but 

 Frederic H. Kennard, in a recent visit to Florida, 

 satisfied himself that there are a very few left 

 in that State. He did not see the birds, but 

 by carefully sifting the evidence of a number 

 of residents, he learned of the existence of at 

 least seven individuals. According to Frank M. 

 Chapman, the extermination of the paraquet was 

 due chiefly to four causes. He says, "first, it 

 was destructive to fruit orchards, and for this 

 reason was killed by agriculturists; second, it 

 was trapped and bagged in enormous numbers 

 by professional bird-catchers; third, it has been 

 killed in myriads for its plumage; and fourth, 

 it has been wantonly slaughtered by so-called 

 sportsmen. In short, in the present century, 

 the paraquet has always disappeared soon after 

 its haunts were invaded by civilized man." 



There are many other birds which have been 

 reduced in numbers to the danger point, but I 

 will mention but two more — the great white 

 heron and the snowy egret, both of which were 

 once distributed over a wide range extending 

 from Northern South America to New England, 



