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E A G L E. 



thought a hole was made in it. I had ascended fear- 

 lessly, and never dreamt of being attacked. I came 

 clown quickly. There were in the nest three young 

 ones, about the size of pullets, which, though full- 

 feathered, were unable to fly. On Friday morning, 

 I went again to the nest to get a young one, which I 

 thought I could nurse to a considerable growth, suf- 

 ficient to answer your purpose, if I should fail to pro- 

 cure an old one, which was represented to me as 

 almost impossible, on account of his shyness, and the 

 danger from his dreadful claws. On taking a young 

 one, I intended to lay a couple of snares in the nest, 

 for which purpose I had a strong cord in my pocket. 

 The old birds were on the tree when Captain H. and 

 I approached it. As a defence, profiting by the expe- 

 rience of yesterday, I took a walking-stick with me. 

 When I was about half way up the tree, the bird I 

 send you struck at me repeatedly with violence ; he 

 flew round in a small circle, darting at me at every 

 circuit, and I striking at him. Observing that he 

 always described a circle in the air, before he came at 

 me, I kept a hawk's eye upon him, and the moment 

 he passed me, I availed myself of the opportunity to 

 ascend. When immediately under the nest, I hesi- 

 tated at the formidable opposition I met, as his rage 

 appeared to increase with my presumption in invad- 

 ing his premises. But I mounted to the nest. At 

 that moment he darted directly at me with all his 

 force, whizzing through the air, his choler apparently 

 redoubled. Fortunately for me, I struck him on the 

 extreme joint of the right wing, with my stick, which 

 brought him to the ground. During this contest, the 

 female was flying round and round at a respectful dis- 

 tance. Captain H. held him till I tied his legs 

 together with my handkerchief ; the captain felt the 

 effect of his claws. I brought away a young one to 

 keep the old one in a good humour. 1 put them in 

 a very large coop ; the young one ate some fish, when 

 broken and put into its throat ; but the old one would 

 not eat for two days. He continued sullen and obsti- 

 nate, hardly changing his position. He walks about 

 now, and is approached without danger. He takes 

 very little notice of the young one. A Joseph Smith, 

 working in the field where this nest is, had the curio- 

 sity to go up to look at the eggs : the bird clawed his 

 face in a shocking manner ; his eye had a narrow- 

 escape ; I am told that it has never been considered 

 dangerous to approach a hawk's nest. If this be so, 

 this bird's character is peculiar ; his affection for his 

 young, and his valiant opposition to an invasion of 

 his nest, entitle him to conspicuous notice. He is 

 the prince of fish-hawks : his character and his por- 

 trait seem worthy of being handed to the historic 

 muse. A hawk more worthy of the honour which 

 awaits him could not have been found. I hope no 

 accident will happen to him. and that he may fully 



answer your purpose. Your's, Thomas Smith 



This morning the female was flying to und fro, 

 making a mournful noise. 



" The young of the fish-hawk are remarkable for 

 remaining long in the nest before they attempt to fly. 

 Mr. Smith's letter is dated June 30th, at which time, 

 he observes, they were as large as pullets, and full 

 feathered. Seventeen days atter I myself ascended 

 to the same hawk's nest, where I found the two 

 remaining young ones seemingly full grown. They 

 made no attempt to fly, though they both placed 

 themselves in a stern posture of defence as I examined 

 them at my leisure. The female had procured a 



second helpmate ; but he did not seem to inherit the 

 spirit of his predecessor, for, like a true step-father, 

 he left the nest at my approach, and sailed about at 

 a safe distance with his mate, who showed great 

 anxiety and distress during the whole of my visit. It 

 is universally asserted, by the people of the neigh- 

 bourhood where these birds breed, that the young 

 remain so long, before they fly, that the parents are 

 obliged at last to compel them to shift for themselves, 

 beating them with their wings, and driving them from 

 the nest ; but that they continue to assist them even 

 after this, I know to be a fact, from my own observation, 

 as I have seen the young bird meet its parent in the 

 air, and receive from him the fish he carried in his 

 claws. The fliffht of the fish-hawk, his manoeuvres 

 while in search of fish, and his manner of seizing his 

 prey, are deserving of particular notice. On leaving 

 the nest, he usually flies direct till he comes to the 

 sea, then sails around, in easy curving lines, turning 

 sometimes in the air as on a pivot, apparently without 

 the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs 

 extended in a straight line behind, and his remarkable 

 length, and curvature or bend of wing, distinguishing 

 him from all other hawks. The height at which he 

 thus elegantly glides is various, from one hundred to 

 one hundred and fifty and two hundred feet, some- 

 times much higher, alt the while calmly reconnoitering 

 the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to 

 check his course, as if struck by a particular object, 

 which he seems to survey for a few moments with 

 such steadiness, that he appears fixed in air, flapping 

 his wings. This object, however, he abandons, or 

 rather, the fish he had in his eye has disappeared, and 

 he is again seen sailing around as before. Now, his 

 attention is again arrested, and he descends with great 

 rapidity, but, ere he reaches the surface, shoots off' on 

 another course, as if ashamed that another victim 

 had escaped him. He now sails at a short height 

 above the surface, and, by a zig-zag descent, and 

 without seeming to dip his feet in the water, seizes a 

 fish, which, after carrying a short distance, he probably 

 drops, or yields up to the bald eagle, and again 

 ascends, by easy spiral circles, to the higher regions 

 of the air, where he glides about in all the ease and 

 majesty of his species. At once, from this sublime 

 and aerial height, he descends like a perpendicular 

 torrent, plunging into the sea with a loud rushing 

 sound, and with the certainty of a rifle. In a few 

 moments he emerges, bearing in his claws his strug- 

 gling prey, which he always carries head foremost, 

 and, having risen a few feet above the surface, shakes 

 himself as a water-spaniel would do, and directs his 

 heavy and laborious course directly for the land. If 

 the wind blow hard, and his nest lie in the quarter 

 from whence it comes, it is amusing to observe with 

 what judgment and exertion he beats to windward, 

 not in a direct line, that is, in the wind's eye, but 

 making several successive tacks to gain his purpose. 

 This will appear the more striking, when we consider 

 the size of the fish which he sometimes bears along. 

 A shad was taken from a fish-hawk near Great Egg 

 Harbour, on which he had begun to regale himself, 

 and had already ate a considerable portion of it ; 

 the remainder weighed six pounds. Another fish- 

 hawk was passing Mr. Beasley's, at the same place, 

 with a large flounder in his grasp, which struggled 

 and shook him so, that he dropped it on the shore 

 The flounder was picked up, and served the whole 

 family for dinner. It is a singular fact, that the hawl 



