20 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
in an adjoining field. Its expanse of wing from tip to 
tip was seven feet six inches, and its weight eight pounds 
and a quarter. 
The friend I have mentioned kindly procured the loan 
of the bird from Whitfield, and sent it for my inspection. 
It is a fine specimen, in the immature plumage of the 
third or fourth year, and its markings are as follows :— 
Hackled feathers of the head and upper neck dark 
brown, the basal portions being white, which here and 
there shows through ; throat, breast, and back different 
shades of white and brown, somewhat mottled, each 
feather having an oval brown tip; back, belly, shoulders, 
and upper wing coverts mottled, brown and white; thighs 
brown ; primaries and secondaries dark brown, the 
tertiaries being rather lighter; upper tail coverts 
mottled, brown and white, lower tail coverts dirty white, 
the terminal portion of each feather being edged with 
dark brown, and distinctly tipped ; tail feathers, inner 
webs dirty white, outer webs brown, somewhat mottled 
on the centre feathers; bill dark horn colour; legs 
yellow, with formidable black claws. 
The next is one which I am afraid israpidly becoming 
scarce even in its own Scottish fastnesses, the Osprey 
(Pandion halieétus), one having taken up a temporary 
abode on the borders of the lake in Thoresby Park in 
the summer of 1855, I have only once noted the pre- 
vious occurrence here of this fine fish hawk ; indeed, 
it is very rarely seen so far from its usual haunts, but 
the one in question must have been attracted in its 
wanaderings by the piscine resources of the large sheet 
of water where I had the pleasure of seeing it. Here 
it remained some weeks, faring sumptuously, its manner 
of fishing affording me and others who witnessed it 
