This is Bird Note.

In the 19th and early 20th century,

the human fascination with bird feathers went a little too far.

Women's hats and dresses featured extravagant feathers

from birds both near and far.

To fulfill the growing demand for feathered hats in the UK,

birds were imported to the fashion hub of London

from all over the world.

The trade and feathers drove several species

from the little e-grip to the Great Crested Grebe

to near extinction.

That up with the killing of wild birds for fashion,

a group of British women led by Emily Williamson

met in 1889 to put an end to this cruelty.

The group, called the Society for the Protection of Birds,

united with another group of protesting women,

the Fur, Finn, and Feather folk, founded by Eliza Phillips.

The organization became the Royal Society

for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB,

which continues to be a leader in bird conservation today.

The RSPB rallied for a ban on the import of feathers

for three decades, until the British Parliament

...