Hummingbirds are the jewels of the bird world. When Broad-billed Hummingbirds are in the right light, their iridescent feathers shimmer like sapphires and emeralds. Their colors once so captivated the hat designers of the Victorian era that hummingbirds, as well as other birds whose plumage became desirable in the millinery trade, were hunted to adorn ladies’ hats. Their feathers were highly prized and were a status symbol among wealthy women. The practice of hunting birds for the fashion trade lead to severely diminished populations of many birds. Eventually, the concerns of citizens lead to the establishment of conservation efforts and eventually to the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 which protects migratory birds and prohibits the hunting, capturing, kinlling, selling, trading, and transporting protected species. Now, the beauty of all of the affected birds, including hummingbirds, can be appreciated in their natural habituates. Instead of adorning someone’s hat, they are flying jewelry.