Genus PANDION, Savigxv. 



C;en. Char. Wing^ very long ; general form heavy ; bill short, curved from the base, com- 

 pressed ; tarsi very thick and strong ; covered by small circular scales ; claws large, curved very 

 sharp ; soles of feet very rough ; tail moderate and rather short ; cere hispid ; nostrils obliiiuely 

 curved ; outer toe versatile. 



This genus is represented in America by but one species — • 

 the Osprey or Fish Eagle. This is one of the many species of 

 Raptores which, at one time supposed distinct from their Euro- 

 pean congeners, are now considered to be the same. 



Pandion Haliaetus (Linn.) Cuvier. 



OSPREY ; FISH HAWK. 

 PL.\TE XIX. 



This intelhgent, active, and hard working bird is abundantly 

 diffused throutrhout Canada and the whole of North America. In 

 1826 Bonaparte wrote respecting it: " It inhabits almost every 

 part of the globe near waters ; much more common in North 

 America than in Europe." Subsequently, however, the same 

 writer, in his " Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds 

 of Europe and the United States," appears to have changed his 

 opinion, as he calls the American Fish Hawk Pandion Carolinetisis, 

 and gives its habitat as "America generally." Other writers have 

 since established other races, varieties or species, namely, the 

 West Indian and South American as one, the Asiatic as another, 

 and the Australian. The Fish Hawk of the whole of America, 

 however, is to-day again reunited with the Osprey of the Old 

 World, although for fifteen years these birds have been considered 

 as distinct by the majority of American authors. 



The Fish Hawk arrives on the coasts of New York and New 

 Jersey towards the latter part of March, and shortly afterwards 

 appears in Canada and extends rapidly through the fur countries 

 to the Arctic ocean. It frequents lakes, rivers, cascades, and 



