OSPREY 



281 



appears for a moment before rising with its prey 

 grasped in its powerful talons. As a rule, it 

 carries its food to some favorite perch, there to 

 devour it. It is said that Fish Hawks have been 

 known to strike fish so large that, unable to re- 

 lease their hold, they were drawn under water and 

 drowned. 



" When protected. Fish Hawks, like many 

 other birds, to a large degree lose their fear of 

 man. In the ' Auk,' for October, 1892, will be 

 found a valuable article by Dr. C. S. Allen, on 

 the habits of this species, as observed by him on 

 Plum Island, N. Y., where for forty years the 

 birds had been protected by the owner of the is- 

 land." (Chapman.) 



In the Adirondacks, on an inlet between two of 

 the lakes of the ' Fulton 

 Chain,' a pair of Fish 

 Hawks had a nest for 

 many years, and though 

 sportsmen's boats passed 

 under their very tree on 

 the way up the lakes, the 

 birds, protected by the 

 chivalry of the guides, 

 were so tame they would 

 perch beside the nest un- 



moved while the gunners 

 looked up at them. 



It is said that the Fish 



Fig. 108. 



Grasping- foot of 

 Fish Hawk. 



