THE CINEREOUS, OR SEA EAGLE. 



39 



heavy forest to hide his baffled royalty, and shake off his pertinacious foes amidst the boughs, 

 as do the smaller hawks when teased by the little king-birds. I was told by the residents of 

 Valasco, at the mouth, who from sympathy with the fish-hawks seemed to greatly relish 

 the scenes, that year after year the Eagles made persevering attempts to obtain a lodg- 

 ment in the neighborhood of this colony, but were always promptly repulsed and finally 

 driven off." 



There is but one species of Osprey, although it has been thought that the American bird 

 ought to be reckoned as a different species. The general color of the Osprey is dark brown, 

 but it is pleasingly variegated with various shades of black, gray, and white. The crown of 

 the head and the nape of the neck are covered with long, gray-white feathers, streaked with 

 dark brown. The under surface of the body is white, with the exception of a light brown 

 band which extends across the chest. The primaries are brown tipped with black, and the 

 tail is barred above with a light and a deep brown, and below with brown and white. The 

 legs, toes, and cere are blue, the eyes golden yellow, and the beak and claws black. 



The range of the Osprey, or Fish-hawk (Pandion halicetus\ is well-nigh cosmopolitan. 

 t On the American shores it ranges from Northern Brazil, the West India Islands, through the 

 whole of North America. 



This bird is exceedingly numerous in some parts of our Atlantic coasts. On a small 

 is] and three hundred nests of the species were found. A singular circumstance is that of the 

 purpb grackle's association with this hawk. The latter allows the grackle the privilege of 

 building its nest on the borders of its own. In the interstices of the coarse nest of the hawk 

 as many as four nests have been seen. 



The stout legs and claws of this bird, looking almost a deformity in their great size and 

 angularity, are well adapted to catch and hold the large fish it frequently takes. This bird is 

 in striking contrast to the pelican in this respect. The latter depends upon the large, dip- 

 net-like pouch to hold the prey ; and, large as the bird is, it gets only the small fishes that 

 swim in shoals near the surface. The Osprey makes a dash at larger game, and rises from the 

 troubled waters with a fair family meal, while the pelican labors during the day for his pittance 

 of household provender. We have seen the Osprey s at Seguin Island, near Casco Bay, in Maine, 

 and the mimerous bald Eagles. Here one may witness the conflicts between them so well 

 described by Wilson and Audubon. Though the nests of the Osprey are often found in com- 

 pany, this bird is fond of building its nest on the tops of the iron beacons that are placed at 

 certain intervals on the coast, and they have a picturesque appearance, attractive to the pass- 

 ing voyager. Nests of this kind are often old, and exhibit the successive layers of material 

 added from year to year, until an immense structure is formed. 



THE CINEREOUS, or SEA EAGLE, is by far the most common of the larger British Fal- 

 conidse, being much more frequently seen than the golden Eagle. On account of the peculiar 

 white rounded tail, the bird is sometimes called the WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 



This species is found in all parts of Europe, but is not known to visit America. As it is a 

 fish-loving bird, and is nearly as great an adept at angling as the osprey, it is generally found 

 on the sea-coast. It possesses, however, a very accommodating appetite, and often makes con- 

 siderable inland journeys in search of food. Young fawns, lambs, hares, and other animals 

 then fall victims to its hunger, and it is said to watch for disabled or dying deer, and to hasten 

 their end by the injuries which it inflicts upon them. On the shores, the Sea Eagle seems to 

 have regular hunting-grounds, and to make its rounds with perfect regularity, appearing at a 

 certain spot at the same hour daily, keeping an anxious eye on the multitude of sea fowl as 

 they hover about the rock ledges in attendance upon their mates and families. 



One of these birds that was domesticated for some years contrived, on one ocaasion, to eat 

 a hedgehog that had strayed too near his quarters. It might naturally have been supposed 

 that the prickly skin of the animal would have caused some discomfort in the Eagle's interior, 

 Nothing of the kind, however, happened ; for the Eagle, as is universal among rapacious birds, 

 ejected the skin and indigestible portions of the hedgehog, and seemed to have felt no incon- 



