American Osprey. 251 



remaining at home to guard against danger. They are raven- 

 ous feeders, and soon attain to full development, when they 

 resemble very closely in dress their parents, having the upper 

 parts spotted with pale reddish-brown or white. Adult birds 

 are dark-brown or grayish-brown above, with most of the 

 head, neck and under parts white, the chest in the female, 

 and sometimes in the male, being spotted with brown. The 

 tail, usually paler than the back, has six or seven dusky bars, 

 and is tipped with white. 



That these birds may be fitted for powerful flight they are 

 provided with long and pointed wings, the second and third 

 quills being the longest. They have a stout bill, with a very 

 long hook and sharp end. Their feathers are oily to resist 

 water, those of the head being lengthened and pointed, and of 

 the thighs and a little of the front parts of the tarsi short and 

 close together. The legs, tarsi and feet are very strong and 

 robust, and the claws all of the same length and very large 

 and sharp. Rough scales completely invest the tarsi, and 

 the toes are padded below and covered with numerous hard- 

 pointed projections to aid in holding their slippery prey. 

 The iris in some specimens is reddish, but mostly yellow ; the 

 bill and claws blue-black, and the tarsi and toes grayish-blue. 

 Male birds are not so large as the females, the latter measur- 

 ing twenty-five inches in length, and with an extent of wings 

 of fifty-two inches. 



