When Queen Marie Antoinette stuck an ostrich feather in her hair to amuse King Louis X VI, she revived a fashion that soon began to cause bird lovers great alarm. Feathers, plumes, and even stuffed birds were used for hat decoration for the next hundred years. Throughout the next few centuries, feathers were considered the height of fashion. As more people clamoured for feathers of all types, millions of birds were slaughtered. Thus, many varieties of the feathered creatures became increasingly rare, Fortunately, naturalists finally organized to save the birds.