The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-04-11
THE SLAUGHIEROF H[RONS
Their Feathers Cost Forty
Five Dollars An Ounce.
CANNOT BE INITIATED
While Aigrets In This Country Are
Now Protected the Demand for
Their Plumes Has Sent Hunters to
India, China and Burmah--Work
of the Audubon Societies.

Of the Audubon Societies.
SIX times q year a sale of plumags
birds is held In Minclng Lane, Lon
don. Look down the long tables
over which stoop the connoisseurs
In color and the quality of feathers
There are gorgeous tail feathers
from Australian Tyre birds, and hum
Nming birds from Venezuelan thick
cts ibis wings from up the Nile,
parrots and tanagers from the Anna
son, with peacocks and pheasants
from India. There are purple, yel.
low and green fruit pigeons from
North Africa, orioles, swallows
honeysuckles, toucans, trogous, the
quetznl, too, sacred and resplendent.
with crested orange and scarlet cock
of-the-rock. Lastly. there are the
glorious bird of paradise from New
Guinea, with sweeping plumes OF
silk and gold. and sixty varieties of
nigret and heron.
Surely the world has been do
spoiled of It's feathered beauty for
women's hats. And each bird differs
IN beauty from the other, as one
differs from another star In glory.
Item, 5.026 OF. of osprey" tho
miiliner's pride, you read in the cata
logue. India, China, Japan, Austria
lia, Africa and both American con
tinents have been diligently hunted
for 1t is fine and precious stuff, fllmy
and delicate es a woman's hair.
Each beautiful bird yields but ono
sixth of an ounce of osprey, and
100000 birds were sacrificed for the
Paris market alone last season.
The much sought after trophy con
sists of the loose, slender waving
plumes Of the snowy heron. which
cannot be initiated artifcially. HUI
man fingers may dexterously model
white wax arum lily; rose that
would deceive the honeysucking bee,
but the snowy silver, fiber plume of
the white aigret is beyond imitation.
And so the heron's enemies are
abroad over the earth. and tho
dealers In great cities seek to reen
force them by making tempting
Offers to traders. missionaries, naval
and military officers on foreign sta
tions. Consuls and explorers gen
orally.
In China the blue bloused peas
ants call these birds the good to
see." and they encourage them to
search the rice fields for food. But
now that the plume hunter Is found
in every province of China, seeking
noddling punches of slender beauty
Tor women's hats there is no more
homtng Of the herons to their here
ditary nests above giant Buddhas,
telling the hour of the dusk to all
the village.
The finest tufts are the we'd
ding garments of both birds. They
grow only as breeding time on the
aigret's back and droop gracefully
over sides and tail. The less fine
plumes, with shorter and sitter fila
ments. such as form the yellow
Kigret, are plucked from the bun
backed or squacco heron, which
properly speaking is not an aigret ar
hll
The snowy heron has plumage of
SURPRISING whiteness. Viewed side
by side with 1t. the swan, the wood
ibis and the stork look earthly. Re-
ferring to this excessive whiteness
different species have received such
scientific names as alba" "imma-
eulate." "candidissima." It is as II
the lovely bird had some lumi-
nous quality existing within itself
and showing through the plumage.
The havoc wrought among these
beautiful creatures In Florida was
enormous before the Audubon So
cteties stepped between them and
their slayers. The latter having
discovered a rookery by watching the
birds flying to and from their nests
would survey the ground, learn the
lines of fight followed and the
perches or lookout stations COM
monty freQuented. Then. armed
preferably with small rifle, tho
plume hunter would secrete himself
and wait for his prey.
The busy birds, having families to
provide for, would be active all day,
and as they returned with food for
little mouths they would rest a mo-
ment on the lookout perch. offering
an excellent mark to the hunter be-
low. The bird fell: a slight repor;
did not alarm the others; and in a
few days most of the parents would
be slain for the sake of their nuptial
plumes.
At present the Florida egrets are
strictly protected, yet such Is the
cupidity of plume hunters that
Warden Guy Bradley of the local
Audubon Society was shot dead by
poachers while watching over his
feathered charges two or three years
ago
L