THE HOME-LIFE OF 
THE “OSPREY: 
Wuen, in 1897, after living in England, circumstances 
brought me to the United States, it was an interesting task 
to try to identify the confusing throng of birds with which 
I found myself surrounded. Of all my new acquaintances, 
none made a greater impression upon me than a large 
brown hawk, which I knew could be none other than the 
Osprey, and which I was amazed to find commonly fishing 
in the waters about New York. Although scientists have 
separated Pandion haliaétus carolinensis from its European 
congener, Pandion haliaétus haliaétus, by reason of its 
slightly greater size and whiter breast, it is, to all intents 
and purposes, the same bird, and indistinguishable in the 
field from the fast vanishing British bird. 
I had often read of the lonely Osprey tenants of one or 
two silent Scottish lochs, with the watchful eye of a warden 
constantly upon them, and my surprise can therefore be 
imagined when I saw my first American Osprey’s nest. It 
was at a popular seaside resort in New Jersey, and perched 
on a tree overlooking a lake full of row boats and noisy 
holiday-makers. 
From these beginnings my acquaintance with the Osprey 
has gradually grown. Although my field-work is neces- 
sarily limited to the brief opportunities of a business man, 
I have, during the past ten years, found it possible, on 
several occasions, to make a fairly close study of this bird 
on its nesting grounds. The gregarious habit of the 
American species renders its observation particularly feasible 
