THE BIRD STUDY BOOK 



The Commercializing of Birds. — With the excep- 

 tions noted above the birds that have noticeably 

 decreased in numbers in North America are those on 

 whose heads a price has been set by the markets. 

 Let a demand once arise for the bodies or the feathers 

 of a species, and immediately a war is begun upon it 

 that, unless speedily checked, spells disaster for the 

 unfortunate bird. 



The Labrador Duck and Others-. — ^A hundred years 

 ago the Labrador Duck, known to Audubon as the 

 "Pied Duck," was abundant in the waters of the 

 North Atlantic, and it was hunted and shot regularly 

 in fall, winter, and spring, along the coast of New Eng- 

 land and New York. Their breeding grounds were 

 chiefly on the islands and along the shores of 

 Labrador, as well as on the islands and mainland 

 about the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Any one over forty 

 years of age will remember how very popular feather 

 beds used to be. In fact, there are those of us who 

 know from experience that in many rural sections 

 the deep feather bed is still regarded as the pihe de 

 [130] 



