108 OWLS. 
sometimes hear the splash half a mile or more, and the 
bird is quite concealed by the spray. It is a magnifi- 
cent performance, and when, after shaking the water from 
his plumage, he rises into the air, I am always tempted to 
applaud. 
The Osprey, or Fish Hawk, as he is also called, adheres 
closely to a finny diet ; neither flesh nor fowl appears on 
his menu, and he is consequently a migratory bird, com- 
ing in April when the ice has melted and remaining until 
October. In favorable localities he nests in colonies, re- 
turning year after year to the same nest. 
One master, it is true, the Osprey has, though he- 
makes a most unwilling servant. The Bald-headed 
Eagle is often an appreciative observer of the Osprey’s - 
Bald Eagle, Piscatorial powers, which so far exceed 
Haliwetus his own that he wisely, if unjustly, 
leucocephalus. ofits by them. Pursuing the Osprey, 
he forces him to mount higher and higher until the poor 
bird in despair drops his prize, which the Eagle captures 
as it falls. 
Eagles are becoming so rare in the Northern States 
that their occurrence is sometimes commented on by the 
local press as a matter of general interest. Nevertheless, 
no opportunity to kill them is neglected, and the majestic 
birds who in life arouse our keenest admiration are sac- 
rificed to the wanton desire to kill. 
THE OWLs. (FAMILY BUBONID.) 
, The Owls number about two hundred species, and 
are distributed throughout the world. As a rule they 
are nocturnal or crepuscular birds, passing the day in 
hollow trees or dense evergreens, and appearing only 
after nightfali; but there are some diurnal species, such 
