258 Birds Every Child Should Know 



the last egret of Southern swamps have yielded 

 their bodies to the knife of the plume hunter, 

 who cuts out the exquisite decorations these 

 birds wear during the nesting season. Inas- 

 much as all the heron babies depend upon 

 their parents through an unusually long, help- 

 less infancy, the little orphans are left to die by 

 starvation. For what end is the slaughter of 

 the innocents? Merely that the unthinking 

 heads of vain women may be decked out with 

 aigrettes! Don't blame the poor hunters too 

 much when the plumes are worth their weight 

 in gold. 



LITTLE GREEN HERON 



Called also: Poke; Chuckle-head 



This most abundant member of his tropical 

 tribe that spends the summer with us, is a shy, 

 solitary bird of the swamps where you would 

 lose your rubber boots in the quagmire if you 

 attempted to know him too intimately. But 

 you may catch a glimpse of him as he wades 

 about the edge of a pond or creek v/ith slow, 

 calculated steps, looking for his supper. All 

 herons become more active toward evening 

 because their prey does. By day, this heron, 

 like his big, blue cousin, might be mistaken for 



