230 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



length is from eleven to twelve inches. The 

 general tone of its plumage is of a leaden gray 

 in the male bird, the legs and feet being red. 

 The plumage of the female is of an ash-gray 

 colour barred with bluish-black, the head and 

 under parts of a reddish tinge. Any further 

 reference to these birds would, I consider, be 

 unnecessary in the present instance. 



For the same reason I have purposely omitted 

 any allusion to the black kite, which lays claim 

 to be included in the list of British birds solely 

 from the fact of its having been but once noticed 

 in this country, and that some eight-and-twenty 

 years ago. 



The osprey, or fish hawk, though the last on 

 our list, is by no means the least worthy member 

 of the family to which it belongs. It is also 

 stated to have been named the ossifrage, from 

 the fact of fragments of large bones having been 

 found in its stomach. It is principally a native 

 of the colder European countries. At one time 

 it is said to have bred in Scotland ; but it 

 is now so nearly exterminated in Great Britain 

 that only a very few pairs elect to do so, and 

 these frequent the wildest and most secluded parts 

 of the Highlands of Scotland. It is a bold and 

 beautiful bird, its shape and plumage being 

 singularly adapted to its mode of life. Its length 

 measures some two feet, its wings being four feet 

 six inches and upwards from tip to tip. The 

 head and neck are white, save where a band 



