OSPREY. 123 



** Inter aruiidines liumi nidificat, et ova parit 3 aut 4 

 Vnagna, alba, exacts fere elliptica : Gallinaceis minora/' 

 — Willughby. 



" Breeds on the ground, among" reeds, or on trees. 

 Eggs 3 or 4, white, and elliptical.' — Fleming. 



Montagu more judiciously says, " It is said to lay 

 three or four white egg-s, of an elliptical form, rather 

 less than those of a hen." 



Remarks. — In the form of the Osprey, is presented 

 to our contemplation an example of the adaptation of 

 means to ends, which we can in some measure com- 

 prehend. That bird lives entirely on fish, marine and 

 fluviatile or lacustrine, and its food must be fresh ; 

 at least it does not appear to meddle with fish that 

 have been cast ashore or left dead in the water. Its 

 prey is slippery, and, therefore, its claws are long and 

 much curved, its toes nearly of equal length, and ca~ 

 pable of being applied in the most effectual manner, in 

 pairs, two and two opposite each other. It must also 

 possess considerable power, and therefore its legs are 

 strong and muscular ; and to prevent its being inextri- 

 cably entangled, the claws are smooth and rounded, so 

 that they can, if necessary, he readily withdrawn. The 

 animals on which it feeds live in the water, ordinarily 

 beyond its reach, coming occasionally to the surface. 

 The bird, therefore, has a comparatively slender form, 

 with very long wings, to enable it to remain without 

 fatigue sailing or hovering over the water, until an op- 

 portunity of pouncing occurs. To prevent its plu- 

 mage being injured by its sudden immersion in the wa- 

 ter, the feathers of the lower surface are rather more 



