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ANIMAL BIOLOGY 



tain seasons the robin, wood tlirush, thrasher, olive-backed 

 thrush, hermit thrush, chewink, flicker, and many of our 

 beautiful sparrows form the bulk of the victims ; but cat- 

 birds, cardinals, and almost all small birds, even swallows, 

 can be found in the markets." 



77. Destruction of birds for millinery purposes. — Even 

 more ruthless than the slaughter of birds for food by boys 



and by men is that caused 

 by the demand for birds 

 for millinery purposes. 

 Here the final responsi- 

 bility rests upon women 

 alone. A single dealer 

 in the South declared 

 that in the course of a 

 single year he handled 

 30,000 bird skins, the 

 largest part of which 

 were used in the decora- 

 tion of hats. 



The Florida egret heron 

 (Fig. 75) has been prac- 

 tically exterminated for 

 this purpose. "Twenty 

 years ago," says Chap- 

 man, "it was abundant in the South, now it is the rarest 

 of its family. The delicate ' aigrettes ' which it donned as 

 a nuptial dress were its death warrant. Woman demanded 

 from the bird its wedding plumes, and man has supplied the 

 demand. The Florida herons or egrets have gone, and now he 

 is pursuing the helpless lairds to the uttermost parts of the 

 earth. Mercilessly they are shot down at their roosts or 



Fig. 75. — Egret, nest, and young. 

 (Courtesy National Audubon Society.) 



