346 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



rough, giving grip when holding slippery fish. The order con- 

 tains but one genus. 



Osprey. Pandioji haliaetus (Linn.). 



The points by which the various species and sub-species 

 of Pandion are separated are so slight that some authorities 

 maintain that there is but one, almost cosmopolitan species, 

 for in winter it visits many parts of the world in which it does 

 not nest. Whether it may still be classed as a resident in 

 Britain is an annual question, for one after another its historical 

 eyries have been deserted. Careful efforts to preserve the few 

 remaining sites in the Scottish Highlands have usually ended 

 in failure. In spring and autumn passage birds, mostly imma- 

 ture, visit us with a degree of regularity, and are met with both 

 on the coast and on inland waters. 



Blind game-preservation and an objection to rivals on trout 

 and salmon streams were, doubtless, responsible for the rapid 

 diminution of our resident birds, but the greed of collectors 

 and the insane habit of shooting any unfamiliar bird put the 

 finishing touch ; the eyrie on Loch Arkaig was deserted in 

 iQiijthat on Loch-an-Eilein a few years earlier. In Britain, at 

 any rate, the Osprey (Plate i) is purely a fish-eater, though not 

 particular whether from fresh or salt water ; it will capture sur- 

 face fish at sea, flounders from a muddy estuary, lazy bream in 

 the meres, or trout in the clear streams. Its flight is not unlike 

 that of the Kestrel ; one which passed and repassed within 

 thirty yards of a boat from which I was fishing, flew with slow, 

 powerful strokes and frequently poised and hovered, its head 

 slightly bent as it scanned the water beneath. After these 

 hovering pauses, if nothing moves below it will glide on, or 

 will plunge headlong with a mighty splash and emerge with or 

 without a captive in its claws, for by no means every dive 

 succeeds. The talons strike deep into the flanks of the fish, 



