494 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



the fish-oil which is spilled by the birds is the cause of death ; 

 but when we remember that there is no better manure than fish, 

 we can hardly believe that the alleged cause is the real one. 

 Other persons think that the real cause of death is the huge mass 

 of decaying vegetable and animal substances which is placed on 

 the branches, and that the drippings from the nest fall into casual 

 interstices of the branches, and gradually kill it from above down- 

 ward. So firmly are the materials fastened together, that when a 

 tree falls on which an osprey nest is built, large masses of the nest 

 hold together in spite of the shock. 



The construction of the osprey nest has been described some- 

 what at length, because the manner in which the Purple Grakle 

 becomes a parasite could not be understood unless the structure 

 of the nest were comprehended. 



As the sticks of which the foundation of the nest are made 

 are very large, and not regular in form, considerable interstices 

 are left between them, and in such spots the Grakle chooses to 

 nidificate. 



In writing of the osprey, Wilson remarks as follows : " There 

 is one singular trait in the character of this bird which is men- 

 tioned in treating of the Purple Grakle, and which I have had 

 many opportunities of witnessing. The Grakles, or Crow Black- 

 birds, are permitted by the fish-hawk to build their nests among 

 the interstices of the sticks of which its own is constructed — sev- 

 eral pairs of Grakles taking up their abode there, like humble 

 vassals around the castle of their chief — laying, hatching their 

 young, and living together in mutual harmony. I have found 

 no less than four of these nests clustered round the sides of the 

 former, and a fifth fixed on the nearest branch of the adjoining 

 tree, as if the proprietor of this last, unable to find an unoccu- 

 pied corner on the premises, had been anxipus to share, as much 

 as possible, the company and protection of this generous bird." 

 In another place, the same writer remarks that the curious allies 

 "mutually watch and protect each other's property from depre- 

 dators." 



These Grakles exist in great numbers, and sweep over the land 

 in vast flocks, like our own starlings, their wings sounding like 

 the blast of a tempest as they rise from the ground, and their bod- 

 ies darkening the air. "A few miles from the banks of the Eo- 

 anoke, on the 20th of January, I met with one of these prodigious 

 armies of Grakles. They rose from the surrounding fields with 



