rofitable to hunt these
birds is when the young are in the nest. At any other time the birds
would be so wild that the plume hunter could not easily shoot them. When
the young are in the nest the parental love is so strong that the adult
birds cannot resist the instinct to return to feed the nestlings when
they are begging for food. In this way both the father bird and the
mother bird become an easy prey for the ambushed plume hunter, and there
is but one thing that can happen to the baby Egrets in the nest after
both of their parents have been killed--they starve to death. This is
one of the most cruel phases of the plume trade, and there is no other
way to secure the aigrette plumes of the Egrets than by killing the
adult birds. Fortunately, in the United States it is against the law to
shoot these birds, and it is against the law to import the plumes. Until
recently it has not been illegal to wear these plumes, and the fact that
there are still a few women who adorn their hats with them has
encouraged the illegal and cruel killing of these birds in our country,
or the smuggling in of the plumes from some other country. In the
latter part of 1919 the federal regulations have been interpreted to
make it illegal to possess aigrette plumes, and henceforth the law will
be so enforced. This is the successful culmination of a long fight by
the Audubon Society.

[Illustration: GOLDEN PLOVER

The Golden Plover makes the longest single flight known to be made by
any bird in migration,--that is, 2,500 miles from Nova Scotia across the
open ocean to South America. Range: North and South America.]

[Illustration: BOBOLINK

During the autumn migration this bird is the Reedbird or Ricebird.
Range: North and South America.]

A few other birds of striking plumage are the Bluejay, the Bluebird, the
Baltimore Oriole, the Scarlet Tanager, the Cedar Waxwing, and Red-winged
Blackbird.

Turning from the esthetic value of birds, which depends, among other
things, upon the beauty of their songs and the beauty of other plumage,
we may consider the value of birds in dollars and cents.

[Illustration: WILD TURKEY IN WEST VIRGINIA

Our most magnificent game-bird. Note how much the young resembles the
dead leaves. Range: Eastern United States west to Nebraska and Texas.
Habitat Group in The American Museum of Natural History.]

[Illustration: NORTHERN SHRIKE IMPALING A HOUSE SPARROW UPON A THORN

The habit illustrated here has given t