THE SLAUGHTER OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 303 



for the manufacture of "aigrettes," led to what at one period 

 was believed to be the practical extinction of both the white 

 egrets from the avifauna of the United States. 



While the plume-hunters were resting in that same belief, 

 the egrets began to steal back from Venezuela, and start col- 

 onies on our Gulf coast. As fast as these colonies were found 

 by the Audubonists, wardens were engaged to protect them. 

 To-day there exist in the United States about twenty-one 

 colonies of egrets, which contain a total of perhaps 10,000 

 egrets and 120,000 herons and ibises, guarded by wardens with 

 modern rifles. 



Through a long series of efforts thirteen states have been 

 induced to enact laws prohibiting the sale of aigrettes, and 

 other plumage of native birds. These laws did not, however, 

 prevent the sale of the plumage of foreign birds; and there- 

 fore the American market was flooded with plumes of birds- 

 of -paradise, crown pigeon ("goura"), Manchurian eared pheas- 

 ant ("numidi") and many other forms of wild-bird plumage. 

 In London, Paris and Berlin the annual trade in wild birds' 

 feathers for millinery purposes has assumed enormous pro- 

 portions. A great many facts and figures regarding London 

 sales and prices will be found in "Our Vanishing Wild Life," 

 Chapter XIII. 



A careful study of the situation at large revealed the fact 

 that through their persistent slaughter for the feather trade 

 about one hundred species of birds are threatened with ex- 

 tinction. Without quick protection, by the closing of the 

 European feather markets, the first species to go will be the 

 greater and lesser birds-of -paradise, the crown pigeons of New 



