DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION OF NORTH AMERICAN 

 HERONS AND THEIR ALLIES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The herons have attracted wide attention during late years, particu- 

 larly because of the earnest efforts that have been made to prevent the 

 utter destruction of the aigrette-bearing members of the family. 

 The horrors necessarily attending the collection of the aigrettes have 

 aroused bird lovers to unprecedented activity. As a result, in some 

 parts of the Union stringent laws have been enacted, and the State 

 machinery for bird preservation has been supplemented by large 

 private subscriptions. Probably no family of birds ever had fuller 

 protection on the statute books than is now enjoyed by the herons, 

 while certainly no birds have ever been the recipients of more zealous 

 care than is now accorded to the remaining colonies of the larger 

 and smaller egrets. 



The friends of the birds became aroused none too soon. The large 

 breeding colonies of egrets have been completely destroyed, and only 

 a few scattered remnants exist to serve as centers for reestablishing 

 the species. 



Most herons are colony breeding birds, and this fact has been one 

 of the most potent factors in bringing about their destruction. A 

 colony could easily be discovered by watching the lines of flight to and 

 from the feeding grounds, and the succeeding operations were woe- 

 fully simple. The hunter merely waited until the eggs hatched and 

 then, taking his stand within the colony, shot the parent birds as they 

 brought food to the young. No matter how much shooting was done, 

 the old birds — then bearing the nuptial plumes in their greatest 

 perfection — continued to return to their hungry young until the 

 last one was killed. The starving of the young and the utter extinc- 

 tion of the colony were necessary sequels. 



So long as these plumes could be sold for their weight in gold 

 and there was an unlimited market for them, neither State laws nor 

 the efforts of zealous game wardens availed much in checking the 

 slaughter. More hopeful conditions are being secured at the present 



