FISH HAWK 155 



with long and heavy undulating wings, with an easy, 

 sauntering flight, over the river to the pond, and hov- 

 ered over Pleasant Meadow a long time, hovering from 

 time to time in one spot, when more than a hundred 

 feet high, then making a very short circle or two and 

 hovering again, then sauntering off against the wood- 

 side. At length he reappeared, passed downward over 

 the shrub oak plain and alighted on an oak (of course 

 now bare), standing this time apparently lengthwise 

 on the limb. Soon took to wing again and went to fish- 

 ing down the stream a hundred feet high. When just 

 below Bittern Cliff, I observed by its motions that it 

 observed something. It made a broad circle of observa- 

 tion in its course, lowering itself somewhat ; then, by 

 one or two steep sidewise flights, it reached the water, 

 and, as near as intervening trees would let mo see, 

 skimmed over it and endeavored to clutch its prey in 

 passing. It failed the first time, but probably succeeded 

 the second. Then it leisurely winged its way to a tall 

 bare tree on the east side of the Cliffs, and there we left 

 it apparently pluming itself. It had a very white belly, 

 and indeed appeared all white beneath its body. I saw 

 broad black lines between the white crown and throat. 



Returning over Conantum, I directed my glass toward 

 the dead tree on Cliffs, and was surprised to see the 

 fish hawk still sitting there, about an hour after he first 

 alighted ; and now I found that he was eating a fish, 

 which he had under his feet on the limb and ate as I 

 have already described. At this distance his whole head 

 looked white with his breast. 



