106 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Pandion haliaetus carolinensis (Gmelin) 

 Osprey; Fish Hawk 



Plate 43 



Falco carolinensis Gmelin. Syst. Nat. 1788. 1:263 



Pandion carolinensis DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 6, fig. 18 



Pandion haliaetus carolinensis A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3 . 1 9 10. 



p. 168. No. 364 



pandion, Gr., Flavifwv, the father of Progne and Philomela; haliaetus, Gr., 'aXtisTo?, 

 sea eagle or osprey; carolinensis, of Carolina 



Description. Upper parts dark brown, nearly black on the flight 

 feathers; head, neck and under parts white, but streaks on the crown and 

 a broad stripe on side of neck blackish, and the breast more or less marked 

 with brownish; the tail with dusky bars, its tip and bars on the inner webs 

 whitish; bill blackish, its cere and basal portion bluish; feet bluish gray, 

 claws black; iris red or sometimes yellow. Male: Smaller and clearer 

 white on neck and below. Female: With more brownish on breast and 

 tawny tinging the white areas. Young: More marked with buffy and 

 brownish on neck and under parts, and the upper parts edged and mottled 

 with whitish or buffy, the tail more barred. 



Length 20-24 inches; extent 4 1/2-5 l / 2 feet; wing 17-22 inches; tail 

 8.5-10.5; tarsus 2.25; middle toe without claw 1.75; culmen and claws 1.30. 



Field marks. The uninitiated often mistakes a Fish hawk for an eagle, 

 but its lighter build, " crooked wings," and white under parts distinguish 

 it at a great distance from both the young and the mature eagle. In 

 expanse of wings, however, it almost rivals the male eagle and the Turkey 

 buzzard among our native Raptores. 



Distribution. The Fish hawk is a regular and not uncommon visitor 

 on all the lakes and rivers of New York State, arriving from March 15 

 to April 1 along the sea coast, and departing from September 20 to October 

 15, but is occasionally seen as late as November 17. It breeds in con- 

 siderable numbers about the eastern end of Long Island, especially on 

 Gardiner's island, where more than 100 nests were occupied in 1910 {see 

 Bird Lore 5, 6, 180 and Wilson Bulletin 50, 18). On Plum and Shelter 

 islands it also nested abundantly in recent years. In the interior counties 

 of New York the Osprey is no longer a summer resident, except in portions 



