AMERICAN OSPREY 373 



and chase the fish hawk, diving down on its back. Finally the fish 

 hawk grew tired of this and made a savage swoop at the crow. Ap- 

 parently the crow did not heed this warning, for he once more 

 rose and dove at the fish hawk. Then the latter bird really made 

 things lively for a few moments for the crow, attacking him from 

 all directions, and finally driving him off into the woods, but never 

 appearing to really strike him, the crow dodging in fine shape." 



Large herons have been suspected of eating the very small young, 

 and hence are potential enemies. Mr. Nicholson tells me that "the 

 osprey is extremely pugnacious towards both the black and the tur- 

 key vultures, which may venture near its nest, and drives them away 

 with great fierceness and display of anger. Possibly the blacks have 

 been guilty of going to the nests and stealing choice morsels or kill- 

 ing the young. I twice found great holes in osprey eggs that were 

 drained of their contents, which I took to be the work of fish crows." 



Almost any small bird will drive away from the vicinity of its nest 

 any predatory bird. The kingbird is one of the most aggressive de- 

 fenders of its home territory and drives the osprey ignominiously 

 away. Blackbirds, grackles, and starlings attack the osprey singly 

 or mob him in flocks, swarming around him until he is glad to beat 

 a retreat. I have seen even a barn swallow chasing one. Unless pes- 

 tered with overwhelming numbers, the osprey pays but little heed to 

 these small tormentors. Mr. Abbott (1911) says that on Gardiners 

 Island the ospreys that have their nests near a colony of common 

 terns "are being continually harried by the Terns. I have seen an 

 Osprey driven from her nest by a Tern three or four times within 

 a quarter of an hour." 



Voioe. — The osprey is a noisy bird about its nest, and its vocal 

 efforts are most interesting and quite characteristic. One reason 

 for its popularity among farmers is that it is a good "watch dog", 

 always alert and sure to give the alarm with its loud cries as soon 

 as a stranger approaches. The alarm note begins with a loud, rich, 

 musical whistle, cheeap, cheeap, many times repeated; as excitement 

 increases, this is lengthened into a much shriller angry scream of 

 great intensity, interrupted with, or ending in, a sharp, metallic 

 ick, ick, ick, a harsh rasping note on a lower key. When undisturbed 

 it has a weak note, which reminds me of the "cheeping" note of a 

 young chicken. There is also a soft note of greeting, as the bird 

 returns to its mate or young, sounding like chirrup. Mr. Abbott 

 (1911) has described the alarm notes very well, as follows: "The 

 commonest note is a shrill whistle, with a rising inflection: Whew, 

 whew, whew, tohew, whew, whew, wheio. This is the sound usually 

 heard during migration; and when the bird is only slightly alarmed. 

 When she becomes thoroughly aroused, it will be : Chick, chick, chick, 



