50 THE HOME-LIFE OF 
They Say they go south. but where in the South We dont 
know. the tide has nothing to do with the hawk their 
time is usually Morning and Evenings. my Friend tells 
me their are not half as many Ospreys as their was 40 
years ago. ‘The Osprey always looks for a dead tree and if 
they cant find one they will build on top of any tree that 
gives them room for their nest but it will kill the tree in 2 
years time.” 
This quaint life-history is distinctly interesting, though 
manifestly inaccurate in parts, such as that relating to the 
number of young reared. Even this point, however, gives 
evidence of some observation. Tor I have myself remarked 
on the number of infertile eggs discovered in the nests 
on Gardiner’s Island, and it is certainly a fact that a con- 
siderable percentage of Osprey’s eggs never reach maturity. 
Whether the proportion is unusually great in the case of 
the Osprey I would not undertake to say, but it is my 
impression that, as a family, the Raptores more than any 
other birds, are unsuccessful in hatching all their eggs. 
Observations of others corroborate Mr. Bauer’s assertions 
relative to the males preceding the females on migration,* 
and relative to the male sharing in the duty of incubation 
and bringing food to his mate on her nest.t 
I have never personally observed an Osprey indulging 
in a bath, other than the necessary immersion incident 
to capturing her prey, and I rather suspect that Mr. Bauer 
may have got his terms mixed. Nevertheless, that Ospreys 
do occasionally enjoy a genuine bath is attested by the 
following interesting note made by Mr. Cleaves, while on 
Gardiner’s Island : *‘ Creeping up to the edge of Tobaccolot 
Pond, I spied some large birds standing in the water on the 
opposite side. ‘Through my glasses I identified them at 
once as Fish-Hawks, and soon saw that they were bathing. 
In all I counted nine Hawks standing in water up to their 
Dollies in one place there were five together. The birds 
* cf. Audubon, * Birds of America” (ed. 1840), I., p. 66; and ‘‘ Auk,” IX., 
1892, p. 318. 
+ id., b., p. 67; and Fisher, ‘* Hawks and Owls of the United States,” p. 131. 
