"What does it cost this garniture of death?
It costs the life which God alone can give;
It costs dull silence where was music's breath,
It costs dead joy, that foolish pride may live.
Ah, life, and joy, and song, depend upon it,
Are costly trimmings for a woman's bonnet!"
--MAY RILEY SMITH.
Temperate and tropical America, from Long Island to Oregon, south to
Buenos Ayres, may be considered the home of the Snowy Heron, though it
is sometimes seen on the Atlantic coast as far as Nova Scotia. It is
supposed to be an occasional summer resident as far north as Long
Island, and it is found along the entire gulf coast and the shores of
both oceans. It is called the Little White Egret, and is no doubt the
handsomest bird of the tribe. It is pure white, with a crest composed of
many long hair-like feathers, a like plume on the lower neck, and the
same on the back, which are recurved when perfect.
Snowy Herons nest in colonies, preferring willow bushes in the marshes
for this purpose. The nest is made in the latter part of April or early
June. Along the gulf coast of Florida, they nest on the Mangrove
Islands, and in the interior in the willow ponds and swamps, in company
with the Louisiana and Little Blue Herons. The nest is simply a platform
of sticks, and from two to five eggs are laid.
Alas, plume hunters have wrought such destruction to these lovely birds
that very few are now found in the old nesting places. About 1889,
according to Mr. F. M. Woodruff, this bird was almost completely
exterminated in Florida, the plume hunters transferring their base of
operation to the Texas coast of the Gulf, and the bird is now in a fair
way to be utterly destroyed there also. He found them very rare in 1891
at Matagorda Bay, Texas. This particular specimen is a remarkably fine
one, from the fact that it has fifty-two plumes, the ordinary number
being from thirty to forty.
Nothing for some time has been more commonly seen than the delicate airy
plumes which stand upright in ladies' bonnets. These little feathers,
says a recent writer, were provided by nature as the nuptial adornment
of the White Heron. Many kind-hearted women who would not on any account
do a cruel act, are, by following this fashion, causing the continuance
of a great cruelty. If ladies who are seemingly so indifferent to the
inhumanity practiced by those who provide them with this means of
adornment would apply to the Humane Education Committee, Providence,
R. I., for information on the subject, they would themselves be aroused
to the necessity of doing something towards the protection of our birds.
Much is, however, being done by good men and women to this end.
The Little Egret moves through the air with a noble and rapid flight. It
is curious to see it pass directly overhead. The head, body and legs are
held in line, stiff and immovable, and the gently waving wings carry the
bird along with a rapidity that seems the effect of magic.
An old name of this bird was Hern, or Hernshaw, from which was derived
the saying, "He does not know a Hawk from a Hernshaw." The last word has
been corrupted into "handsaw," rendering the proverb meaningless.