96 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



The Osprey's feet, with their rough, spiny pro- 

 jections, long and well-curved claws, are perfect 

 fish traps : add powerful wings and tail, with 

 plenty of muscular energy to operate them, and 

 we have a combination which rarely misses its 

 finny prey. 



Its keenness of vision is of a very high order, 

 and it is able to see a neutral colored fish from 

 a height of many feet. Though most plunges 

 begin within a hundred feet or so of the surface, 

 dives of three hundred or more feet are not un- 

 common. Kingfishers seize their prey with their 

 bill but the Osprey, like other raptorial birds, 

 uses its feet only. The captive is always car- 

 ried head forward. Some authorities suggest 

 that this position makes wind resistance less, but 

 it seems more reasonable to me to suppose that 

 placing the talons one in front and one behind 



is done the better to control the spasmodic jerks 

 of the expiring fish. 



Occasionally the Osprey mistakes the size of 

 its quarry, and I saw one on the St. Lucie River 

 in Florida dragged under by a large intended 

 victim. The Osprey finally succeeded in getting 

 its claws free, but was so nearly drowned that 

 it lay on the yacht's deck for ten minutes before 

 recovering sufficiently to fly. 



Where protected — and I am glad to say that 

 is everywhere in the East — it often nests in 

 colonies, one of the largest of which is on Gardi- 

 ners Island, off the eastern end of Long Island. 

 Its harmless character is so well understood by 

 the Purple Crackles that frequently they build 

 their own homes in the interstices of the large 

 bulky nest which the Fish Hawk builds. 



R. I. Brasher. 



Photograph by H. T. Middletun 



OSPREY 



