1870.] REEKS — ON THE BIRDS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 43 



several eyries existed in the immediate neighbourhood of Cow 

 Head, but at present the sites only remain ; it is said to breed on 

 a peculiar island-rock, called " The Prior," in the mouth of the 

 Bay of Islands. I have, on more than one occasion, seen the 

 " grepe" fishing at Cow Head and Bonne Bay, and obtained one 

 eoo- from the latter place. The nest was built in a large pine- 

 tree, and contained two eggs — one addled : the egg is very similar 

 to that of H. albicilla.* The bird is only a summer migrant to 

 Newfoundland. 



It is not improbable that Aquila canadensis may eventually be 

 found to visit Newfoundland. 



American Osprey, or Fish Hawk (Pandion carolinensis, Gmel.) 

 — This fine species is common in Newfoundland : it is a summer 

 migrant, coming in May and retiring in the early part of October. 

 Often, on a calm summer's evening, as I lay on the grass smoking 

 my pipe, have I watched two or three pairs of these birds fishing 

 in the harbour. Suddenly the slow circling flight is stopped, — 

 the quick eye discerns its scaly prey, — the body assumes an almost 

 vertical position ; the wings for a moment vibrate rapidly, as if to 

 give their owner impetus, and then with almost unerring aim, like 

 an arrow from a bow, the osprey drops into the water. In a few 

 seconds he reappears, and rising a few feet from the water, the 

 rapid vibration of wings is again observable, but this time only to 

 drive the claws more firmly into the sides of his finny morsel, with 

 which he slowly sails away to some high tree in the woods, where 

 probably is a nest, — 



" Itself a burden for the tallest tree." 



This beautiful hawk does not escape the ruthless " gunners" in 

 Newfoundland, although utterly useless after death to the settlers. 

 The osprey builds in trees in the extensive woods, either near the 

 sea-coast or some inland lake. The eggs which I obtained from 

 Bonne Bay cannot be distinguished from European specimens 

 received from the late Mr. Wheelwright. Having no English 

 specimens of the osprey by me, 1 am unable to point out any 

 difl'erences whereby they may be selected from American 

 examples. The authors of ' Birds of North America' give none ; 



* In the Proc. Zool. Soc. for 1863 (p. 252) Dr. Sclater recorded H. 

 albiciUa as a ISTewfoundland bird, an error which he corrected in the 

 ' Proceedings' of the same Sjciety for 1865 (p. 701). 



