At the turn of this century, fashionable women used the plumes of birds for ornamentation on their hats and clothes. In some cases, whole birds were used. Many species were in danger of being wiped out for their feathers.

One of the most beautiful birds that faced extinction was the roseate spoonbill - a large, pink and white bird with vivid red shoulders. It gets its name from its large red shoulders and flat, spoon-shaped bill that it uses to feed in the muck of the ponds and shallow lagoons where it lives. Through stringent conservation techniques, the bird has made a remarkable comeback.

Nature has provided for the helplessness of the young spoonbill in its struggle for survival. Constant shelter is found in the heavy cover of mangrove trees under which the parent birds build their nests. There the young are carefully tended until they are able to fly down to the shallow water where food is available.

A scientist once wanted to study the nesting habits of spoonbills. He marked with blue paint the rims of those nests he was going to observe. Thus the breasts of the birds would automatically be marked when the settled on the eggs. This method had worked with other species of birds but it didn't work so well in this case. When the male parent approached the freshly painted nest, he seemed to study the painted area intently and then dropped down to make sure the eggs were untouched. After this, he set about removing the painted sticks from the nest, picking them up carefully by the unpainted ends. He took out every stick with even the least trace of paint and then settled on the eggs.

Just as that spoonbill wouldn't spoil its natural beauty with paint, so we maintain our natural appearance and cultivate an inner beauty that makes even the homeliest person beautiful.