20 BRITISH BIRDS. 



be it said, in spite of his fierce demeanour, he is a great 

 coward. His natural enemies are the King" Bird {Tyran- 

 nus tyrannus) and the Common Tern (f^terna hirmido), 

 which, in parts of the island, made his life hardly worth 

 living, pestering and bustling him wherever he dared to 

 stir. The King Bird, in spite of its being about one- 

 quarter the size and one-tenth the weight of the Osprey, 



Fig 2. -Osprey's Nest on a Rock out at Sea. 



(P/iotogiapJi by P. H. Bahr.) 



fully maintained its reputation of a tyrant. One bird in 

 particular caused us great amusement. It so happened that 

 he had taken a very particular liking to a withered bough, 

 a perch of vantage whence to survey the world. It also 

 happened that this bough was situated in the vicinity of 

 an Osprey's nest, and no sooner did the Osprey dare to 

 settle on this disputed territory than down would swoop 

 his small tormentor, and he would have to " git." 



With birds of prey, however, the Osprey is not so 

 lenient, and on that accomit the Pheasants, turned down 

 some fifty years ago, have, under his protection, thriven 

 inordinately well. 



