The story starts out in the early 1800's. At that time, it was standard for naturalists to shoot and stuff birds in order to study them. Large stuffed bird collections meant more accurate data about various bird species for the naturalists. In addition to naturalists, wealthy citizens also collected birds for pleasure. During this time, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was numerous and inhabited most of the southeastern United States. However, as the 1800's progressed, the bird's numbers began dwindling and naturalists began noticing this.
At the turn of the century, birds in general began facing a new threat--feathered hats. The "Plume Wars" of the late 1800's and early 1900's reduced many bird populations, especially the Snowy Egret whose numbers plummeted to less than 300. In the book, Hoose notes that at that time, "...an ounce of plumes--requiring the death of four birds--was worth twice as much as an ounce of gold." While the Snowy Egret populations recovered, other birds, such as the Carolina Parakeet did not and became extinct.
