Birds Of A Feather

Blame it on Marie Antoinette.  When the vain queen wore feathers in her hat, one woman's whim became a trend that lasted more than a century and practically decimated avian populations.  According to a 1913 study by the director of the New York Zoological Park; in 1911, the feathers of 129,186 egrets, 13,598 herons, 20,698 birds of paradise, 41,090 hummingbirds, 9,464 eagles, condors and other birds of prey, and 9,472 other birds were sold at auction in London for the millinery trade.  And that's 11 years after the first American animal protection law -  the Lacey Act of 1900 - was passed.  And, those numbers were for one year.  Unimaginable.

For those of you that watch the wonderful Downton Abbey, you'll notice the feathered hats worn by the manor born.

Cock Of The Walk

I had 3 peahens and 3 peacocks. The breed, though nosy are not aggressive and definitely have a mind of their own - meaning I have no control over them. They go where they please; down the middle of the road, to neighbors etc. The old meany down the road called at 7 a.m. one morning screaming that she was going to shoot them. They were in her yard and she didn't want them on her property. My husband tried to explain that he couldn't control them and there was no way of catching them. She continued to rant and rave until he hung up on her. So now we have 3 peacocks. The neighbors locked them up in their pen to breed with their hens. This is the only one we have seen since summer.

Two winters ago, they roosted up on the top of the barn when the ice storm hit. You get the picture. Their tails froze to the tin roof and they ripped them to shreds to get down. They looked awful. Now, these tails are six feet long and lush. They are funny to watch and call to each other from great distances. Peacock love!