THE OSPREY. 



143 



THE AMERICAN OSPREY IN THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 



PKOF, M. J. ELKOn, UNIVERSITY OK MONTANA. 



THE American Osprey and its nest are conspicu- 

 ous figures to the tourist in Yellowstone Na- 

 tional Park. They are numerous around 

 West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, and in the Grand 

 Canyon of the Yellowstone. 



All along the lake shore at West Thumb they have 

 built nests on the stumps of dead pines. In most 

 cases the nests are on the summit of the stump, 

 twenty-five or thirty feet above the ground. From a 

 distance the whitened pine stumps appear to be 

 tipped with a black cap, which is the nest. In a few 

 cases the nests were built in the crotch of a limb, as 

 shown in the illustration. 



In the Grand Canyon the nests are built on the 

 summits of towering crags, yet far below the eye of 

 the observer, absolutely inaccessible. In the canyon 

 the nests are quite numerous, and so far as I could 

 discover, were all entirely beyond the reach of man. 



Of course the birds are protected, and are, as a 

 consequence, rarely disturbed. The birds are fre- 

 quently seen flying back and forth in the canyon, and 

 their shrill cry is a familiar sound to the tourist. 

 From West Thumb to the Grand Canyon, and down 

 the canyon as far as we went, is about fifty miles. A 

 portion of this is not wooded, but most of the dis- 

 tance the nests are quite numerous. 



J. H. CLARK, I'ATERSON, N. J. 



DURING the last week of July, 1896, I made a 

 trip through Yellowstone Park, and among 

 the photographs I took while there is that 

 of one of the pinnacles of rock showing the Osprey 

 and a small part of the nest on top of the rock to the 

 right of the live tree. It was taken in the Grand 

 Canyon of the Yellowstone, just below the Lower 

 Falls. Two young birds were in the nest, and I would 

 have liked to photograph them had I been able to 

 reach the nest in its inaccessible position. 



All down the Canyon are pinnacles of rock, some 

 high and slender, others massive. Many of these 

 held either an old or an inhabited nest ; on one I 

 noticed two nests about three feet apart. Many of 

 the nests contained one or two young, most of which 

 were nearly ready to fly. From Inspiration Point 

 one can see a great many of the nests, and the old 

 birds flying up and down the Canyon. When they 

 fly past young in a nest, the little ones raise and 

 flap their wings, probably excited in their expect- 

 ancy of food or desire to follow. The young birds 

 seem much affected by the hot sun ; a great many 

 of them lie on their breast with their wings spread 

 out over the nest. 



Ospreys in the park have not the same idea of a 

 building site ; some use the lofty pinnacles of rock, 

 others the low ones, and some build in the trees. 



REMARKS ON THE HABITS OF THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



EDWIN IRVINE HAINES, STATION 248, U. S. BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 

 [Read before the Linnaean Society of New York.] 



PERHAPS of all our winter birds the one that is 

 most interesting and abundant is the White- 

 breasted Nuthatch. I have given this bird a 

 systematic study this winter, with very pleasing re- 

 sults, and was surprised by its cunning, inquisitive- 

 ness and intelligence. 



These birds are even more curious than the Jays, 

 and will cock their heads on one side and gaze at you 

 for a long time, remaining perfectly still in the mean- 

 time. I have often tested their inquisitiveness by 

 letting one watch me for a while, then quietly walk 

 to the other side of the tree, and in every instance 



It travels about in pairs, making its presence known they would follow me around, 



by a loud "quank, quank ; " and is always found in They are very fearless, and will let you approach 



winter in deciduous trees, preferring those of Oak, very near to them, and will not pay any attention to 



Chestnut, Sycamore, Poplar, and others which have you, unless from mere curiosity ; but should your 



rough bark. One of its peculiar habits is that of run- mien be warlike, they will very soon know it. I have 



ning around, and up and down, a tree trunk, as if all often tried to secure them at long range, and in many 



directions were horizontal ; but in a systematic hunt, instances have had them dodge to the other side of 



it starts at the top, comes down head foremost, cir- 

 cling around the tree, as if it were going down a cir- 

 cular stairway in some tower. 



Though supposed to be a permanent resident here, 

 in all probability very few remain to nest, while the 



the tree before the shot reached them. After you 

 have once shown your hostility, they will be very 

 careful to keep the tree between them and you. 



Our great naturalist, Wilson, in his "Ornithology 

 of the Birds of the United States," (1828, Vol. 2, p. 



greater number go further north. This is shown by 54,)says; " The name ' Nuthatch ' has been bestowed 

 the disappearance of the birds as spring advances, on this family of birds from their supposed practice 

 a few only being casually seen in summer, while in of breaking nuts by repeated hatchings or hammer- 

 autumn they become plentiful once more ; besides, I ings with their bills. Soft-shelled nuts, such as hazel 

 have often seen them with migrating flocks of birds nuts and chestnuts, they may, probably, be able to 

 in both seasons. demolish, though I have never yet seen them so en- 



