106 



THE OSPREY. 



in the shallows of the offing'. The tide was run- 

 ning out and the water on the flat not over a 

 foot in depth." 



Supposing the play to be out. Mr. Lancaster 

 "was proceeding to examine the victim when it 

 was evident that more was t" come. The Hawk 

 was not dead and would at intervals raise its 

 head from beneath the water to breathe. It had 

 not strength to submerge its body, and with the 

 vital air came a vision of the hovering' terror. 

 Down went its head with a gurgling murmur, 

 and those black demons would alight upon it 

 with their miserable puny feet and punch it en- 

 tirely beneath the surface. 



"The vitality of the Fish-hawk is something 

 wonderful, for this pastime went on for an hour, 

 until at length it was completely dead." 



Such treatment of the ( isprev by the Frigate- 

 bird must be exceptional and was not observed 

 by Audubon whose experience in Florida was 

 considerable. Nevertheless, there is no a priori 

 reason for discrediting' the occurrence of the 

 episode described by Mr. Lancaster. The 

 Frigate-bird is well known to compel other birds 

 to get for it or at least disgorge their food. 

 Audubon found that "the Cayenne Tern and 

 other species of that genus, as well as several 

 small Gulls, all abundant on the Florida coast, 

 are its purveyors, and them it forces to disgorge 

 or drop their prey." 



Such tyrants are unknown to the Osprey 

 in Europe and have been observed only by 

 American naturalists. Naumann mentions 

 only Crows. 



THB OSPRE'i" as A HOST. 



Not only is the Osprey sociable with its fellows; 

 it is also tolerant of the company of other birds 

 of different species and habits. The Purple 

 Grackle is a frequent applicant for hospitality 

 and takes advantage of interspaces around 

 the Osprey's nest to establish one of its own. 

 Other nesting parasites have been observed, as 

 Crows, Sparrows, Wrens, and even Herons. 

 Sometimes several species shelter in one and 

 the same nest, as has been recorded by Mr. 

 Allen. 



A pair of Fish-hawks on Plum Island occupied 

 a nest situated on the bank of a very slug- 

 gish stream at the edg'e of the piece of wood. 

 "The nest was old and large, and was probably 

 an inheritance from former generations. It 

 was thoroughly protected from below by the 

 long' projecting sticks at the base and the im- 

 perviousness of the mass. A pair of Herons, 

 wiser than their kin, built their nest under the 

 Fish-hawk's nest, only some fifteen inches below 

 it, and in a place the Fish-hawk could not possi- 

 bly reach without tearing away a portion of 

 their own nest. The Heron's nest was thus 



thoroughly protected from storms and from 

 hostile attack from above. In the crevices of 

 this same Fish-hawk's nest were five nests of 

 the Purple Grackle. one Wren's nest, and an 

 English Sparrow's nest." 



FOLK LORE AMI POPULAR BELIEFS. 



Common and conspicuous as it is, naturally 

 around the Osprey various beliefs and super- 

 stitions have grown up. 



In some parts of the United States the Osprey 

 is regarded with special favor for one reason or 

 other. 



B3- its flight, the weatherwise shore-man and 

 rustic pretend to forecast an impending storm, 

 or. as Wilson in sympathetic language expresses 

 it, "they serve as a barometer to foretell the 

 changes of the atmosphere; for. when the Fish- 

 hawks are seen thus sailing high in air, in 

 circles, it is universally believed to prognosti- 

 cate a change of weather, often a thunder storm, 

 in a few hours. On the faith of the certainty 

 of these signs, the experienced coaster wisely 

 prepares for the expected storm, and is rarely 

 mistaken." 



In the words of Dr. S. L- Mitchill, (communi- 

 cated to Wilson.) "a sort of superstition is enter- 

 tained in regard to the Fish-hawk. It has been 

 considered a fortunate incident to have a nest, 

 and a pair of these birds, on one's farm. They 

 have therefore been generally respected, and 

 neither the axe nor the gun has been lifted 

 against them." We are also told by Mr. Howe 

 (Auk, xii, 301) that "the Ospreys in Bristol, 

 [R. 1. 1 have been so carefully watched — as the 

 belief among' the farmers is that they protect 

 their poultry from other marauding- hawks* — 

 that they have become very tame and only when 

 the egg's are nearly hatched or when the young- 

 are in the nest do they pay any heed to the 

 passer by." 



Audubon had long before referred to the same 

 belief. He considered that "a most erroneous 

 idea prevails among our fishermen, and the 

 farmers along our coast, that the Fish-hawk's 

 nest is the best Scare-crow they can have in the 

 vicinity of their houses or grounds." This 

 belief. Audubon suggested, has as its only 

 foundation a certain coincidence. "The ab- 

 sence of most birds of prey from those parts at 

 the time the Fish-hawk is on our coasts arises 

 simply from the necessity or retiring to the 

 more sequestered parts of the interior for the 

 purpose of rearing- their young - in security" and 

 their reappearance coincides with the appear- 

 ance of the winter shore and sea birds. 



In England, in olden times, some strange 

 ideas were entertained about the Osprey. 



[To be Continued.) 



*See also Dr. Fisher (Hawks ami Owls.) 



