370 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



cupied. After a while we heard an osprey whistling in the vicinity ; 

 we returned to the big pine and rapped it; much to our surprise 

 the bird flew off the nest. That was the only time I have ever had 

 to rap a tree to flush an osprey, except at night when they probably 

 sleep on the nest. I believe that both birds spend the night in the 

 nest tree; we have several times in complete darkness flushed both 

 birds while climbing the tree. 



In spite of their frequent plunges into the water, ospreys like to 

 bathe occasionally. Pearson, Brimley, and Brimley (1919) say: 

 "A curious habit of the Osprey is that of 'foot-washing.' From 

 flapping in wide circles over the lake a bird may be seen suddenly 

 to half close its wings and glide toward the water in a long, gentle 

 sweep. When almost touching the surface, the feet are dropped to 

 the full extent of the long legs and a horizontal flight of fifteen or 

 twenty yards follows, while the feet drag in the water. The reason 

 for this action is doubtless to cleanse the toes and claws of the 

 fish-slime that must necessarily accumulate on them." 



L. McCormick-Goodhart (1932) watched an osprey bathing on 

 a sandy point and writes : 



The bird stands in about six inches of water, and bathes in the same manner 

 as other birds, by ducking himself under and then vigorously flapping his 

 wings. On May 15, 1932, however, I witnessed what appeared to be a new 

 method of bathing. When I observed the bird this time (through a 16x 

 binocular) it was flying towards me, about six feet above the surface. It was 

 observed suddenly to descend into the water, and then adopt a sort of vertical 

 American-eagle attitude while flapping its wings two or three times before 

 rising again. It then again flew along the water, keeping the same general 

 direction, and repeated this form of immersion some five times, finally rising 

 to a normal flight. 



I once saw a different method of bathing. "\^^iile driving past a 

 small pond we saw an osprey perched on a low stake on the edge of 

 the pond, and we stopped to watch him. He rose, circled around 

 the pond once or twice, and then dove into the water head first, 

 going entirely below the surface; he rose to the surface almost im- 

 mediately and flopped along it for a few yards, flapping his wings 

 vigorously and ducking his head under water occasionally. He 

 then rose, shook the water from his plumage, circled the pond again, 

 and flew back to his perch. This performance was repeated three 

 or four times at intervals of only a few minutes. We did not see him 

 preen his plumage. He was evidently not fishing but seemed to be 

 enjoying his bath. 



In its relations with other species the osprey is a peaceful, gentle, 

 and harmless neighbor. Only such species as might harm its eggs 

 or young are attacked or driven away. If unmolested it attends 

 strictly to its own business, in which it is very industrious. A very 

 large proportion of the osprey's nests that I have seen have con- 



