THE OSPREYS 1937 



On the Continent the osprey generally builds in the latter part of April, laying 

 three, or rarely four eggs, which resemble those of the Accipitrine birds in being 

 blotched with shades of reddish brown. The nest is large, and composed of sticks, 

 and may be placed either on a tree, a ledge of rock, or in a ruined building. In 

 North America, where ospreys are numerous, Captain Bendire states that the nest 

 is usually built in a tall tree frequently on the top of the broken stem of a 

 pine. In places where trees are scarce, as in some parts of California, the nest 

 may be situated either on the ground or on a cliff. Mr. W. W. Worthington writes 

 that on Plum island many pairs of ospreys "nest on the ground, on the tops of 

 sand dunes, in such cases depositing the eggs on the sand; the nest consisting of 

 a few sticks, bunches of seaweed, and pieces of various kind of rubbish arranged 

 in a circle. In other cases the nests are built up several feet, the height in all 

 probability being regulated by the number of years the nest has been occupied, 

 and the amount added to it from year to year." But a single brood is produced 

 during the year, and, while the period of incubation is commonly considered to be 

 twenty-one days, Captain Bendire believes it to be a week longer. 



The Oriental fish eagles, which must not be confounded with the 

 sea eagles, constitute a genus {Polioaetus} differing from the preceding 

 by the shorter wings, longer tail, and differently-formed feet, and con- 

 fined to India and the Malayan region. The large Oriental fish eagle {P. ichthyae- 

 tus) somewhat exceeds the osprey in size, whereas the smaller (P. humilis) is 

 inferior in this respect. The larger species has the upper plumage brown, becoming 

 paler on the middle of the back, and darker on the wings, while the head and neck 

 are ashy gray and the tail white, with a broad bar of brown at the tip. Its range 

 extends from India to Celebes, and its food consists mostly of fish. 



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