30 THE HOME-LIFE OF 
feet—and a hundred other little incidents—can be enjoyed 
in all their minutest detail. The more conspicuous acts 
can be well seen through a field-glass, but never with the 
same satisfaction as a near-at-hand view. 
In the presence of the blind, or the camera alone, the 
Ospreys displayed great variability in their willingness 
to return to their homes. Some would be back on the nest 
before we had gone one hundred yards, others would wait 
a whole morning, or decline to return at all. This variability 
of temperament is very conspicuous throughout one’s 
photographic operations with these birds; and not only 
do different Ospreys vary, but the same birds vary greatly 
at different times. An example of unusual confidence was 
afforded by the mother Osprey shown in Plate 12a. She 
returned to her nest before I even had time to reach the 
end of the thread I had attached to my camera. Indeed, 
as may be seen from the photograph, two of the young are 
only just starting to “relapse” from their threatening 
attitudes assumed at my recent proximity to the nest. The 
photograph also forms an interesting comparison in the 
appearance of a parent and her full-grown young. At this 
age, the only conspicuous difference is that almost every 
brown feather on the youngster is edged with buff. These 
edgings have a peculiarly frayed appearance, even when the 
feathers are brand new. Spring specimens would indicate 
that the buff edgings disappear by abrasion, to form the 
uniformly brown coat of the adult. 
Although the full-grown young differ imperceptibly 
from the adult in size, and although they appear well able 
to take care of themselves, they are, as a matter of fact, 
perfect babies. ‘The three represented in Plate 12b were 
quite incapable of flight, in spite of their fully-developed 
wings, and in spite of their fierce looks they were absolutely 
harmless. The only wounds which they inflicted upon 
us were caused by their already fully-developed talons, 
in their violent attempts to gain a foot-hold upon our 
wrists, when we carried them from their nest to the branch 
