ORIENTAL FISH-EAGLES. 173 



whence it precipitates itself upon its quarry, and bears it off in its claws; or 

 it not unfrequently, on the fish moving to too great a depth, stops suddenly in 

 its descent, and hovers for a few seconds in the air, like a kite or kestrel, 

 suspending itself in the same spot by a quick flapping of its wings ; it then makes 

 a second, and, in general, unerring dart upon its prey, or regains the former 

 altitude by an elegant spiral flight. It seizes the fish with its claws, sometimes 

 scarcely appearing -to dip its feet in the water, and at other times plunging 

 entirely under the surface, with force sufficient to throw up a considerable spray. 

 It emerges again, however, so speedily as to render it evident that it does not 

 attack fish swimming at any great depth." 



On the Continent the osprey generally builds in the later part of April, laying- 

 three, or rarely four eggs, which resemble those of the Accipitrine birds in being 

 blotched with shades of reddish brown. The nest is large, and composed of sticks, 

 and may be placed either on a tree, a ledge of rock, or in a ruined building. In 

 North America, where ospreys are numerous, Captain Bendire states that the nest 

 is usually built in a tall tree frequently on the top of the broken stem of a 

 pine. In places where trees are scarce, as in some parts of California, the nest 

 may be situated either on the ground or on a cliff. Mr. W. W. Worthington writes 

 that on Plum Island many pairs of ospreys " nest on the ground, on the tops of 

 sand-dunes, in such cases depositing the eggs on the sand ; the nest consisting of 

 a few sticks, bunches of seaweed, and pieces of various kind of rubbish arranged 

 in a circle. In other cases the nests are built up several feet, the height in all 

 probability being regulated by the number of years the nest has been occupied, 

 and the amount added to it from year to year." But a single brood is produced 

 during the year, and, while the period of incubation is commonly considered to be 

 twenty-one days, Captain Bendire believes it to be a week longer. 



Oriental The Oriental fish-eagles, which must not be confounded with the 



Fish-Eagles, sea-eagles, constitute a genus (Polioaetus) differing from the preceding 

 by the shorter wings, longer tail, and differently-formed feet, and confined to India 

 and the Malayan region. The large Oriental fish-eagle (P. ichthyaetus) somewhat 

 exceeds the osprey in size, whereas the smaller (P. humilis) is inferior in this 

 respect. The larger species has the upper plumage brown, becoming paler on the 

 middle of the back, and darker on the wings ; while the head and neck are ashy 

 grey and the tail white, with a broad bar of brown at the tip. Its range extends 

 from India to Celebes, and its food consists mostly of fish. 



