364 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



young Ospreys during this "looliing fierce" operation are often ludicrous in 

 the extreme. They will spread or trail their wings, lower their heads in wicked 

 fashion, raise their crests, and in general assume as formidable an aspect 

 as possible. Sometimes they exhibit the power of extending the feathers of 

 the throat and cheeks, forming a sort of mask. After standing for a few mo- 

 ments in this "terrifying" attitude, the strength of the young bird begins to 

 ebb and his muscles to relax; he will fall back on his "heels," and his head 

 will begin to droop forward. At this stage he will often be resting on "all 

 fours," so to speak, the "shoulders" of his wings acting as supports to the 

 fore-part of his body. They gradually give way, however, and the bird's bill 

 comes closer and closer to the nest, until at last he is once more in his original 

 prone and death-like position. 



By the time the young are five or six weelvs old thej^ are strong 

 enough to stand up and feed themselves. The parent no longer tears 

 up the food and feeds them, as described above, but drops the fish 

 in the nest and flies away. The young then take turns feeding, stand- 

 ing over the fish, or on it, in a crouching attitude, with wings half 

 spread and drooping. They are well behaved; I have never seen 

 any evidence of quarreling; even with a small fish, they seem con- 

 tent to take turns. They are very neat in their sanitary habits ; after 

 a meal each bird backs up to the edge of the nest and squirts its 

 excrement clear of the nest. As the Avings develop faster than the 

 young bird's strength, they are allowed to droop, or are used as 

 additional supports. About two weeks before the young are ready to 

 fly, the}'^ begin their wing exercises, standing up and flapping the 

 wings vigorously for several minutes at a time. After a week or so of 

 this exercise, their wings are strong enough to lift them up a few 

 feet above the nest, and then to attempt short, uncertain flights to 

 nearby branches or to a perch above the nest. Finally, confidence in 

 the power of its wings, or the example set by its parents, prompts 

 the boldest of the 3^oung to make its first real flight away from the 

 nest, a supreme moment in its life. With surprising ease it sails or 

 flaps along, but it soon becomes tired and looks for a place to perch. 

 Its attempts to alight on a treetop are awkward and uncertain; it 

 has not learned to grasp a slender perch and finds it difficult to get 

 its balance with much flapping of wings and wiggling of tail. It 

 may be forced to alight on the ground to rest; I have often seen 

 one do this; and it can rise from the ground quite easilj'. Such 

 flights are short at first and the 3''oung always seem glad to return 

 to the firm flat top of the nest, which will be their headquarters, 

 bedroom, and dining room for several weeks yet. 



Throughout the summer the young ospreys associate with their 

 parents, playing with them in flying exercises, following them to the 

 fishing grounds, and learning to fish for themselves. This latter they 

 seem to do instinctively, as Mr. Forbush (1927) says: "They require 

 no teaching, as individuals that have been brought up by hand and 



