82 THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 



passing from the beak do^vn the side of the neck. The under parts are white, with 

 dashes of yellowish tint before the fully mature plumage is assumed. The length of 

 the bird is about two feet ; the expanse of its wings about four feet six or eight 

 inches. 



Auduboih states that the ospreys show themselves along the shores of the United 

 States, and the lakes and rivers in spring, as they are proceeding northwards, and also 

 in autiunn, when they retire to warmer climates. " At these seasons they appear in 

 flocks of eight or ten, follow the windings of our shores in loose bodies, advancing in 

 easy sailings or flappings, crossmg each other in their gyrations. During the period of 

 their stay in the United States, many pairs are seen nestling, rearing their young, and 

 seeking theii' food within so short a distance of each other, that, while following the 

 margins of our eastern shores, a fish-hawk, or nest belongmg to the species, may be met 

 with at every short interval. 



The sole food of the osprey is fish ; unlike the rest of its tribe, though possessing for- 

 midable power, it attacks neither birds nor quadrupeds, and even permits other birds (as 

 the fish-crow and purple grakle) to entrench upon the outside of its nest, making it a 

 domicile of their own. Tliis, to be sure, is no inconvenience, as the osprey's nest is of 

 immense size ; it is built in a large tree near the water, or at the edge of a wood, at no 

 distance from it, and is composed of such a mass of sticks, sea-weed, grass, and other 

 materials, as to measure often four feet across. 



There is a strong attachment between the male and female birds. The former assists 

 in incubation, assiduously supplying his mate with food, though each in its tmn goes in 

 quest of some for itself. At such times the male bird is now and then observed rising 

 to a great height in the air over the spot where his mate is seated, ascending, by con- 

 tinued flappmgs, almost in a direct line, meeting the breeze with his white breast, and 

 sometimes utteiing a cackling kind of note. On attaining his utmost elevation, where, 

 indeed, no human eye can perceive him, he utters a loud shriek, dives smoothly on half- 

 extended pinions, and then, expanding his wings and tail, he glides towards the female 

 bird in her nest, in a beautifully curved line. Partially raising herself from her eggs, 

 she utters a low cry, resumes her former posture, and her delighted pai'tncr flies ofl" to 

 the sea, to regale her with a favourite fish. 



" Occasionally," says Wilson, " an osprey comes sailing down the course of tlic river, 

 but does not breed anywhere ui our immediate neighbourhood. This very beautiful bird 

 drops hke a stone on any unlucky fish that its sharp eye may detect in the clear pools 

 of the river, and I beheve she seldom pounces in vain. Having caught a trout or small 

 salmon, she flies with it to land, or to some rock, and there tears it up. When the river 

 is too high and black for the fish to be attainable, no dead carcase comes amiss to her ; 

 and in floods in the Findhorn there is seldom any dearth of food of this kind. Mountain 

 sheep or wounded roe ai-e frc(piently swept down its ra])id course, when swollen with 

 much rain, or liy the melting of snows on the higher mountains from whence this river 

 derives its source. This winter, a young red deer (a calf of about eight montlis old), 

 was found in the river. The animal had been shot with a slug through the sliovilder, 

 and had probably taken to the water (as woimdcd deer are in the habit of douig), and 

 had been drowned and carried down the stream." 



" The regular arrival of this noted bird at the vernal equinox, when the busy season 

 nf fishing commences, adds peculiar interest to its first appearance, and procures it many 

 a benediction from tlie fishermen." Wilson, therefore, ajipcnds to liis statements the fol- 

 lowing lines, illustrative of these circumstances. 



