8 THE HOME-LIFE OF 
and interesting. My chief fields of operation have been : 
various points on the coast of New Jersey, where I have 
spent several summers (going to and fro from New York 
every day), and where Ospreys are locally quite abundant ; 
Great Lake, North Carolina, where there are thirty nests, 
and near which I camped from June 16th to 23rd, 1909 ; 
and, especially Gardiner’s Island, New York, which contains 
perhaps the largest known colony of Ospreys, and which 
I have been privileged to visit upon three occasions. In 
addition, I have seen various isolated nests, and have 
gathered together a not inconsiderable mass of general 
notes, such as a bird-lover might be expected to accumulate 
about a species in which he is particularly interested. 
Ospreys, or Fish-Hawks as they are more commonly 
named in the United States, arrive from the south in the 
region of New York about the end of March, when the ice 
has disappeared from lakes and rivers; they depart again 
in the early part of October. During migration they 
may be seen flying even over the built-up portions of the 
city, or fishing in the park lakes. Near settlements of 
immigrant foreigners I have known of disgraceful cases of 
ruthless shooting of these noble birds for no apparent 
purpose other than a mere test of markmanship. In one 
instance the corpses of no less than three Ospreys were 
found close to an old tree, upon which the birds were 
accustomed to perch. Yet in spite of persecution, Ospreys 
still nest, or attempt to nest, annually within the city 
limits of New York. 
The inspiring and picturesque manner of capturing its 
prey is undoubtedly the characteristic for which the Osprey 
is most famous. Fortunately for the ornithologists in 
America, the bird is still sufficiently common to afford 
even the casual bird-student ample opportunity of witness- 
ing its interesting manceuvres while in search of a meal. 
The height from which an Osprey will descend for a fish 
varies. His eye is exceedingly keen, and not infrequently 
he will spy a victim while soaring at an elevation of two or 
