:>0 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



catch of his piscatorial exploits is carried directly to the 

 nest, and administered ungrudgingly to his most patient 

 partner. When disengaged from such pursuits, he stations 

 himself on an adjoining tree when such is present, or at a 

 brief distance, and exercises the closest surveillance over the 

 nest and its occupant. All attempts at intrusion are pun- 

 ished most summarily. Dr. Brewer cites a case where a 

 lad essayed to reach the nest in order to rob it, when he was 

 assailed with so much violence, that the male's talons were 

 driven through a cloth cap, and laid bare the scalp. Ex- 

 perience has taught us the danger incurred in visiting these 

 nests for hostile purposes. You may pass and repass under- 

 neath the nest, the parents criticising vour every movement 

 the while, still they do not venture upon an assault. But 

 when you attempt to mount the tree that bears their treas- 

 ures, you virtually invite the full measure of their wrath. 

 To show the affection and devotedness of the male towards 

 his partner, Wilson mentions the case of a female that 

 was prevented from fishing by a broken limb, who was 

 abundantly supplied with food by her mate. 



The young are objects of more than common parental 

 solicitude. Both parents vie with each other in rendering 

 them every necessary attention, and are indefatigable in their 

 exertions to provide them with a full supply of suitable food. 

 But one parent is absent from the nest at a time, the other 

 remaining to guard against danger. The young are raven- 

 ous feeders, and soon attain to full development. 



The eggs of this species are nearly spherical, and van 

 considerably in ground-color, and in the number, shade, and 

 distribution of their markings, as well as in their size and 

 shape. The back-ground is generallv a creamy-white, with 

 a perceptible reddish tinge. The latter is so decided in some 

 specimens that the cream is entirely obscured. The mark- 

 ings vary endlessly, from an amber brown to other shades of 

 the same color, and often intermingle in multifarious ways. 



