OSPREY. ]^l 



ftifles farther south, the Fish-hawks had laid their eggs 

 a month earlier. Between the Floridas and New Jer- 

 sey, or in the districts usually called the Middle States, 

 they rarely begin to lay before the 15th of April. In 

 the State of Maine, they seldom arrive before the mid- 

 dle of May, and in Labrador the period of their ap- 

 pearance is from the 1st to the 10th of June. It would 

 be interesting to discover whether the Fish-hawk which 

 breeds near the mouth of the Mississippi in January, 

 breeds again in the course of the same season between 

 that place and Labrador," or not. I have thought it 

 not unlikely that it does, but have no facts to support 

 the opinion. 



" The Fish-hawk is far from always placing its nest on 

 very high trees, but accommodates itself to any situation 

 that may occur, provided other circumstances are fa- 

 vourable. On the Keys of the Floridas, its nest is 

 often seen placed on a mangorve not more than seven 

 or eight feet above the water. In two instances I saw 

 it there on the ground, and once on the roof of a low 

 house. In the latter case, the nest had been resorted to 

 three successive years. In Labrador the nests which I 

 saw were built on the stunted firs, there being no trees 

 in the country deserving the name. In the Floridas, I 

 saw several nests placed close to those of herons, ibises, 

 and cormorants, all the species living together in the 

 greatest harmony. 



" I remain, my dear Mr Macgillivray, your most 

 sincerely attached friend, and obedient servant, 



" J. J. AUDUB0N> 



*' Edinburgh, lUth June 1835." 



