How Christmas Traditions Changed from Hunting to Counting Birds

Camila Cerea/Audubon

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt." They would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won. Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Click here to read more about how Audubon Society started a new, more humane Christmas tradition.