fe) THE HOME-LIFE OF 
he will give another final shake to satisfy himself that he 
is rid of all possible surplus moisture, and will rise steadily 
to the level of the tree-tops, when an even course is 
maintained until the nest or the favourite feeding-perch 
is reached. 
‘The Osprey’s invariable method of carrying a fish head 
foremost, in order to avoid resistance to the air, is well 
known. Normally, the fish is grasped firmly in both talons, 
and there appears to be no preference in holding either 
the right or the left leg forward. In the case of a very 
small fish or a fragment, one foot only is often employed, 
the other being perhaps in normal flight-position—extended 
to the rear under the tail. Friends of mine have seen 
Ospreys turn a fish round in mid-air, so as to bring the head 
to the front, and also transfer a small fish from one foot 
to the other. When both talons are engaged, the position 
of the fish is toward the rear rather than under the centre 
of the bird (wide Plate 30a). Large fish are occasionally 
seen to extend beyond the end of the bird’s tail. Not 
infrequently the fish is carried on its side, or belly up, but, as 
always, pointing in the direction of flight. ‘There appears to 
be no definite rule as to just what part of the fish shall be 
grasped by the bird’s talons. Sometimes the feet are so far 
apart that the fish’s body sags between them; at other times 
the feet are both held so near the fish’s head that its tail 
droops and flops at each wing-stroke. 
With both talons occupied in the carrying of a fish, I 
had been puzzled at the ready ability of an Osprey to alight 
upon the branch of a tree, or the pointed top of a telegraph 
pole. But close observation, assisted by the work of a rapid 
focal-plane camera shutter, has revealed that just as the 
bird approaches a perch, the hinder foot (be it right or 
left) is disengaged and stretched forward. ‘This free talon 
grasps the perch first, and instantly the fish is slapped down 
by the other talon and held securely beneath the weight 
of the bird. In some of my photographs it may be seen 
that at the moment of alighting, the tail of the fish, released 
