TASTE OF PISCIVOROUS BIRDS. 167 



pair of these birds from discovering such a station. 

 " While walking 1 ," he says, " along- the bank opposite 

 to that on which my camp stood, I perceived a 

 number of heads, fragments of large fishes, and the 

 bones and remains of small antelopes, strewed on 

 the ground, near the rotten trunk of an old tree. 

 I immediately concluded that this must be the place 

 where a pair of bald buzzards had established their 

 fishery, and it was not long before I saw them sailing 

 in the air at a great height." He found, however, 

 they were too quick-sighted to come to their station 

 while he remained concealed only in the bushes, and 

 it was riot till he had a hole dug in the ground, over 

 night, where he concealed himself for two days suc- 

 cessively, that he succeeded in shooting the birds*. 



The osprey (Pandion haliaetus, SAVIGNY) cannot, 

 according to Montagu, either dive or swim, and 

 consequently can only take such fish as swim near 

 the surface. On one occasion he observed an osprey 

 looking out for prey on the river Avon. At last, 

 he saw its attention arrested, and like the kestril 

 (Falco tinnunculus) 3 in search of mice, it became 

 stationary, as if examining what had attracted its 

 notice. After a pause of some time, it descended to 

 within about fifty yards of the surface of the water, 

 and there continued hovering for another short 

 interval, when it precipitated itself into the water 

 with such great celerity as to be nearly immersed. 

 In three or four seconds the bird rose without any 

 apparent difficulty, carried off a trout of moderate 

 size, and, instead of alighting to regale upon its prey, 

 soared to a prodigious height and did not descend 

 within his viewt- Pliny gives a similar description, 

 evidently applicable to the same bird, which he says 

 "hath the quickest and clearest eye of all others, 

 soaring and mounting on high: when she spieth a 

 * Travels, i. 196, 2d edit. t Linnsean Trans. 



