ThirstyFish

Fourth of July Fireworks (2010)!

The Common Tern is a strongly migratory waterbird wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It hunts by hovering and then plunge-diving into the water for small fish. Much like Egrets, Terns were also almost hunted to local extinction (extirpation) by Hat Makers.

Decorating women's hats with bird feathers became fashionable in the late 18th Century when Marie Antoinette appeared in headdresses with feather plumes. This can be seen in many of her portraits. Between 1850's to the early 1900's, the Millinery Trade was responsible for large scale killing of birds across the world, many species to the brink of extinction. In the United States this practice was halted by The Lacey Act of 1900 and later by The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

"Let Them Eat Cake" is a famous quote attributed to Marie Antoinette, supposedly spoken in response to peasants having no bread to eat. Biographers and historians have found no evidence that Marie Antoinette uttered those words and there is evidence that the phrase precedes her. Since her time, the phrase has been used by critics, politicians and revolutionists to denote the obliviousness of rulers to the condition of the people.

It is only justifiable to make hats out of living creatures if you assume them to be Automata...