Eggs

There are many reasons why some birds have become endangered. In the late 1800’s, birds were killed for women’s fashion. Feathers and even entire birds were commonly mounted on women’s hats and dresses. In Birds and Men, a woman is said to have walked into "...the reception room with a dress decorated with patches of three thousand Brazilian Hummingbirds!" (Welker, R. H. 1955. Birds and Men. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Cambridge, 230 pp.).

In the middle of this century, we used toxins like DDT to kill insects. These toxins have also been responsible for killing birds as they interfere with the successful reproduction of many species. Human population pressures also impact birds. The more habitat that we occupy with homes or farms or industries, the less habitat that is available for other animals.

Hunting and egg collecting, when taken to extreme levels, are detrimental to bird numbers. Disturbing birds while they are incubating, may have grave consequences for the eggs. Parents may leave the nest for good or simply stop incubating. As well, a collector’s tracks may lead predators to a nest site they would not have noticed.

Osprey became endangered in Europe partly due to egg collecting. Arthur Cleveland Bent writes,

"The eggs of the osprey are the handsomest of all the hawks’ eggs; they show considerable variation, and the coloring is very rich; a selected series of them is a great addition to an egg collector’s cabinet. I shall never forget my envious enthusiasm when a rival boy collector showed me the first fish hawk’s eggs I had ever seen. Nor could I forget the peculiar pungent odor that clings to these eggs after many years in the cabinet, a fragrant reminder of many hard climbs." (Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey Part One, Dover Publications, Inc., New York).

Birds and their eggs are now protected under the International Migratory Bird Convention and provincial wildlife statutes.