OSPREY, ORIOLE. 87 



THE OSPBEY. 



THE length of this bird is two feet ; its breadth, from 

 tip to tip, about five : its bill is black, with a blue cere, and 

 its eye yellow : the crown of its head is white, marked with 

 oblong dusky spots ; its cheeks, and all the under parts of 

 its body are white, slightly spotted with brown on its 

 breast, from the corner of each eye a streak of brown 

 extends down the sides of the neck towards the wing ; 

 the upper part of the body is brown : the two middle 

 feathers of the tail are the same ; the others are marked 

 on the inner webs with alternate bars of brown and white ; 

 the legs are very short and thick, being only two inches 

 and a quarter long, and two inches in circumference ; they 

 are of a pale blue colour, the claws black, the outer toe i's 

 larger than the inner one, and turns easily backward, by 

 which means this bird can more readily secure its slippery 

 prey. 



; THE OB IDLE. 



Almost all the species of this numerous genus are natives 

 of America. They feed on fruits, grains, and insects : are 

 of a noisy disposition, and are remarkable for the structure 

 of their nests, which some suspend from a branch, and 

 others sew to the under surface of a very large leaf. Some 

 are gregarious, and many very beautiful. 



THE GOLDEN ORIOLE 



Is one of the most beautiful of the European birds, 

 inhabiting, during summer, many parts of the continent, 

 and sometimes visiting our own country. Its colour is a 

 fine golden yellow, exceping the wings and tail, which 

 are black. The nest is suspended by its rim between the 

 forked branches of a tree, and is composed of interwoven 

 straws and grass, lined first with mosses and lichens, and 

 then with the silken chrysalis bags of moths, the egg-bags 

 of spiders, feathers, &c. The parents are very assiduous 



