On the Osprey.



269



THE OSPREY.


Pandion carolinensis.


By J. Lewis Bonhote, M.A.


It must have been during the early days of 1902 that he

first saw the light of day, and doubtless brought joy into his

parents’ hearts. His home was some 25 feet up on the summit

of the tallest mangrove of the district, and from this lofty pinnacle

he might, had he felt so inclined, have had a view of miles upon

miles of mangroves, broken up here and there by the clear blue

of the water, from which his parents would daily take toll to

supply the needs of his inordinate appetite.


Of man his parents knew little or nothing; true there was

a settlement of perhaps a dozen huts some 50 miles away, and at

sea, some four miles off, many small sailing boats would con¬

tinually be passing and repassing; but these men cared nothing

for the great bird that now and again would swerve round their

ships, for they were earning far too precarious a livelihood by

sponging to have any time to waste on mere birds. In addition

to “Joey,” for we must give him a name, two brothers were

hatched about the same time, and for a month all passed un¬

eventfully, plenty of food and fresh air, causing the young

birds to grow apace.


One morning, however, Joey’s father was somewhat per¬

turbed by the sight of a human being coming towards his home ;

at once, mounting the top of a mangrove, he called out vigor¬

ously, with a loud and shrill cry, and his mate who had been

fishing a short distance off came hurrying up and added her

cries to his. This doubtful enemy still continued his advance,

and finally reaching the nest, climbed up; there was no doubt

now about his intentions, and the parent birds determined to

defend their young ones vigorously, swerving down at the in¬

truder again and again, but never actually daring to attack. It

did not however take long, and Joey and his two brothers were

borne away, leaving the parents to their now deserted home.

Although barely a month old, each of the three young ones had

found time to develop a definite character. The youngest was



