From the beginning, mankind used his resources wisely to sustain life. There came a time when we crossed that fine line of necessity and the slaughter of animals and environmental pollution got out of control. The skills and technology we have today to make sculptured art so real to life, makes trophy hunting backwards and unnecessary.
The cardinal is the most recognized bird in the United States. Seven States recognize the Cardinal as their state bird. These beautiful birds are non-migratory and are found from the southeastern U.S. into South America. They range west to Arizona and north into southern Canada. In the 1800`s they were sought after birds, caged and sold for their song and beauty. They were also stuffed and mounted on walls as wildlife decor, cabin decor, lodge decor and to enhance the rustic decor of the dwelling. This practice stopped with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. They feed on seeds from weeds, insects and a variety of berries.
The male is 8.5 to 9 inches in length, brilliant red on its breast and a duller red on its wings and tail. It has a prominent crest on top of its head. Its conical beak is red along with its legs and feet. The face has a black mask surrounding the eyes and extends under the chin. The male was favored over the female for cabin decor, lodge decor, rustic decor and wildlife decor because of its bright colors.
The female is slightly smaller in size. Its crest and body is grey to brown in color with red in its wings and tail. The mask around its eyes is lighter in color. Often shown on walls with the male for cabin decor, lodge decor, wildlife decor and rustic decor.
The nesting material is grasses and takes the shape of a bowl. There is 3 to 4 eggs in a nest, they are light blue with grey/brown dots. The nests are usually constructed in areas of dense thicket three to eight feet off the ground. The nests and eggs were also brought into the home for cabin decor, lodge decor, wildlife decor and rustic decor. All the juveniles look like the female. When they are mature enough to leave the nest they molt and the male juveniles take on the bright red color.
With the advent of porcelain and other materials it has made it possible to decorate your dwelling with sculptures of wildlife decor, cabin decor and lodge decor for that rustic decor look.
What inspired me to do this research was my very first sighting in my New Hampshire backyard. It was the first cardinal I had ever seen in the wild. After being in this world for nearly 60 years and seeing pictures throughout the media, I recognized the crest on the head. We normally see brown sparrows, crows and grey squirrels. I wanted to show my wife but she wasn't to be found without yelling. This first cardinal I saw was the female. The very next day the female came again, this time with the male. It was an awesome sight. Both were sounding off with their cheep, cheep, cheep, song. Being a wildlife buff I dug into my encyclopedia and other media on the internet for this research. Its no wonder bird lovers adorn the walls of their home or workplace with cabin decor, lodge decor at www.oldwildlifedecor.com.
Sources:
Encyclopedia Americana
Web site, Cornell Lab on Ornithology
Web site, New Hampshire Television
Web site, Wikipedia Foundation, The Free Encyclopedia.
From the beginning, mankind used his resources wisely to sustain life. There came a time when we crossed that fine line of necessity and the slaughter of animals and environmental pollution got out of control. Over the past century we began to see the destruction we were causing from our own progress and laws and organizations came to be. Progress continues, as it should, to keep up with the demand of times. We have turned the corner to cleansing our own blight but we have a long way to go.
Checks and balances have kept wildlife flora and fauna under control for hundreds of thousands of years. When man came on the scene, he used wildlife wisely for food, clothing, tools and weapons. As man became more intelligent he discovered agriculture and livestock management. Man then began to kill animals that preyed on his livestock and foraged in his crops. Hence, the decimation of wildlife began. The elimination of animal species can be tracked as far back as the North American Mastodon. Man kept getting more intelligent. He was beginning to notice that by eliminating a species of animal, was causing him to have problems with other animals. He realized the cost of his intervention to try to fix one problem far out weighed the benefits. The slaughter continued, not only were animals killed for food but for their hide, fur, trophy and even for aphrodisiac. They were killed, stuffed and mounted on walls for cabin decor, lodge decor, wildlife decor and rustic decor.
For the remainder of this article, I refer to North America. Man kept getting smarter and the Industrial Revolution evolved. Man began building dams to harness electricity to power textile mills and manufacturing plants. Mills and manufacturing plants rose up everywhere. People loved it, textile mills and manufacturing meant jobs. Jobs put food on the table, clothed their family and put a roof over their head. As time went on pesticides emerged and were a miracle fix for harmful and destructive insects and rodents. Crops were becoming plentiful and with the advent of veterinary medicines, livestock diseases began to wane. Come the turn of the Twentieth Century man was doing alright for himself. Plenty of food, shelter, running water, electricity and with the advent of appliances, chores were a lot easier. With more money available man began to decorate the interior of their homes. Up on the walls went cabin decor, lodge decor, wildlife decor, rustic decor, fish, pictures, ornaments, clocks, and mirrors.
What man did not understand, or at least had a blind eye to, was the adverse affects of all this progress. The building of dams to harness electricity stopped anadromous fish such as salmon, smelt and shad, from returning to their spawning grounds. Textile and manufacturing plants were polluting the waterways by emitting their by-products back into the rivers. The misuse of pesticides added to the pollution problem and got into the food chain and eliminated some species of birds and animals, it nearly wiped out the bald eagle. This caused insects and other pests that these eliminated species kept in check to get out of control. We began to open our eyes to our own demise and organizations like the Audubon Society formed to promote interest in birdlife. In 1946 the National Wildlife Federation was formed for the benefit of wildlife and laws like the Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act governs the use of pesticides, just to name a few.
As successful as we have become and as intelligent as we are, we still develop problems with progress but we are learning to study the downside first and not move ahead too fast. We have learned to recycle, control pesticides, curb pollution, manage wildlife, and of course, there is room for improvement. We still can do a lot more for wildlife. Put sculptured wildlife decor, cabin decor, lodge decor and rustic decor on the wall instead of stuffed animals.
As individuals we can do our small share to help. We can put trash in its proper place, recycle used oils, solvents and paints so that they do not get land filled and end up in our ground water. Read the entire label on pesticide containers before using. These are just a few things we can do to help. We can teach our children to respect the great outdoors by carrying back litter from their snacks. Not to shoot animals and release fish they do not use for food. Trophy killing is still practiced today. People shoot animals, have them stuffed and mount them on the wall. I find nothing wrong with hunting for food but I do feel that killing animals for the sole purpose of putting them on the wall is wrong.
The skills and technology we have today to make sculptured art so real to life, makes trophy hunting backwards and unnecessary. So go ahead and adorn your walls with wildlife decor, cabin decor, lodge decor and rustic decor but make it artificial.
