The American Egret 



Taken in Santa Barbara 



Photo by the Author 



A CONSPICUOUS FIGURE 



t ory birds, 

 except under 

 permit for 

 purely scien- 

 tific purposes; 

 but the skins 

 and feathers 

 of migratory 

 game birds 

 lawfully killed 

 may be pos- 

 sessed without 

 a permit. The 

 wearing of ai- 

 grettes and 

 plumes of mi- 

 gratory birds, 

 other than the 

 feathers of mi- 

 gratory game 

 birds lawfully 

 killed, is thus 

 made unlawful, and it is believed that women will refrain from 

 wearing aigrettes or other prohibited plumage as soon as they have 

 become familiar with the provisions of the law. The market for these 

 plumes will then be closed and a check placed upon the indiscriminate 

 slaughter of these beautiful birds of plumage." 



"The extent to which this illegal traffic has been conducted was indi- 

 cated when United States game wardens, armed with a Federal warrant, 

 searched the apartments of a Seminole Indian at Miami, Fla., and seized 

 aigrettes valued at about $3000. It is reliably stated that the yearly 

 earnings of this Indian from the sale of plumes to Florida tourists and 

 others have for several years exceeded $5000. The Indian is now under 

 bonds to await the action of the Federal court." 



We may only pause here to remind ourselves how hideous was the 

 persecution from which the bird has only just escaped. The peculiar 

 cruelty of the war of extermination lay in the fact that in order to secure 

 the aigrettes which were to nod and dance on some lady's bonnet, the 

 bird which owned them had to be shot during the nesting season. The 

 magnificent train of feathers is provided only at this time of year, as a 

 bride is granted her best robes for the wedding day and the honeymoon ; 

 and if the butchers, whom the feather-merchants hired, had waited until 



1898 



