BIRDS OF PREY 165 
and it is small wonder he uses it year after year. As 
in the building of a home, so in the choice of a mate, 
the Osprey acts once for all; the pair remain together 
throughout the years, together making the long trip 
south, as do the loons. When the leaves on the trees 
are the size of a mouse’s ear, the Fish Hawk lays her 
three characteristic eggs and begins to brood. In a 
little more than two weeks downy nestlings stretch up 
their pretty heads for food, and both parents are kept 
busy supplying the demand. Small fish are carried con- 
stantly to the nest, the heads, bones, and fins being 
thrown to the ground and the soft parts given to the 
young. As the young emerge from the downy state to 
the dignity of feathers, they begin to sit up cautiously on 
the edge of the nest and call with short, sharp, impatient 
whistles for their food. This the parent answers with 
a clear, cheery whistle, as he rises from the water, and 
when he nears the nest the calls of both grow very quick 
and excited. It is a charming bit of home life, well 
worth some discomfort to watch. 
When the young are fully feathered and strong, — at 
about four weeks old, — their training in fishing begins. 
They are taken to the water and, by repeated trials, learn 
to dive and strike their fish. Sometimes it is learned the 
first day, and sometimes several lessons must be given, 
but the end is the same, — the nestling is forced to catch 
his own dinner, or go hungry. 
Among the twigs of the large nest small birds  fre- 
quently make their home unmolested. I have known 
wrens to do this, and there are other well-authenticated 
