XXXII 



AMERICAN OSPBEY; FISH HAWK 

 364. Pandion halioetus carolinensis 



The extent of the living and breeding range of the 

 Osprey is not surpassed by that of many birds. It is 

 found practically all over the North American continent, 

 and breeds wherever unfrozen rivers and lakes are found, 

 during the nesting season wintering in abundance in the 

 Gulf states. 



It is of a general dark brown color, with head, neck 

 and under parts white, and, by the inexperienced, is often 

 mistaken for the Bald Eagle. The diet of the Osprey 

 consists of fish caught in the water by grasping them 

 with its long bill and powerful talons, as it swoops upon 

 them from great heights. It refuses to collect and eat 

 dead fish from the ground, as is the habit of the Bald 

 Eagle. (Fig. 45.) 



The Osprey is a sociable and friendly bird, often 

 seen in small flocks of its kind, and does not shun or 

 attack other birds. Many instances are on record where 

 other birds have actually made their nests in the 

 coarsely built nests of Ospreys, as if seeking protection. 

 The nest is a bulky affair of rough sticks and is fre- 

 quently seven feet across. Each year the old nest is 

 repaired and used again ; thus it increases in dimensions. 

 It is placed in the highest branches of the tallest trees 

 or on pinnacled rocks. As one travels through Yellow- 

 stone Park, the guide is very careful to point out to his 

 passengers the Eagles' nests, high on a pinnacled rock 

 in Golden Gate and the Grand Canyon, both of which 

 are the nests of the Osprey. 



The Osprey is a splendid flier. It dives like an air- 

 plane and suddenly shoots upward in its practice flights, 

 or while fishing. If it is successful in its plunge for 

 a fish it rises with a triumphant cry, shaking the water 

 from its feathers like a water spaniel. It is met at its 

 nest by its mate, to whom the food is transferred and 



in turn fed to the young. 



no 



