rQ uisroRY 01' 



The osprey : brown above, white below, the buck of the head 

 white, tiie outward tail feathers, on the inner side, streaked witli 



while; legs naked.* 



The jean le blanc : above, brownish grey ; below, white, spot 



* The O^prc!,, or Ossifrage, is so nan.ed, because fragments of bones of 

 considerable ma^itude have been fouml in its stomach. It is found in the 

 :i entcountri^of Europe and North America ^'7^'^. >* ^^-^ 4^ 

 nerallv to prefer cold and even frozen regions, such as Russia, Siberia, and 

 Kam Iciatka, Poiret has seen it in Barbary. From it. usual habitat on the 

 seLlore, on the banks of great rivers and lakes over which it is contmu 

 aJW hove ing, it has received the denomination of the great sea eagle. Fish 

 U the principal article of its subsistence, which it seizes by darting on it 

 when it is on a level with the water, and sometimes even by plunging aft r 

 t It also preys on sea-birds, young seals, hares and even lambs. It hunts 

 and fishes both by night and day, having the double advantage of seeing 

 better in daylight than the nocturnal birds, and by night than the diurnal. 

 The Lorning Ld evening, however, are the principal times which it de 

 votes to this exercise. Its flight is neither as elevated nor as rapid as that 

 of the great eagle, and not being so long-sighted, it does not pursue its prey 



"""ne osprev builds its nest in the rocks which border the sea-coast, or in 

 very lofty oaks. It lays two round and very heavy eggs of a dirty white. 

 It nurses its young with the greatest affection ; but as one of the eggs is 

 Ln u2itfll. the species, though considerably extended, is not very nu- 



'"'Tre%ygLgusTwhich is now ascertained to be of the same species as the 

 osprey, though formerly separated, is found in the northern parts of both 

 c.n.tine,.ts Pallas beheld a prodigious quantity of them m the mountains 

 .,f the Vol'-a. This bird frequents the sea-coasts and lives on hsh, young 

 .e-ils duck= &c , and the carcases of animals cast on shore by the waves. 

 To make itself master of the diving birds, it perches on the point of the 

 rucks and judging from the agitation of the water of the place where the 

 ;:;:d wrre-app^ea' it seizes it at the very instant of its rising to the surface. 

 When it has possessed itself of a prey too heavy to be raised out of the wa- 

 ter it drags it to the shore, flying backwards; but when its talons have 

 entered the body of some large seal, and it cannot disengage them, it is 

 drawn into the water by the animal, and is heard to utter the most pierc 

 ino- cries Aristotle says, that this bird also preys on fawns, deer, and roe- 

 bucks it has been observed that the pygargi which frequent inhabited 

 places hunt only for some hours in the middle of the day, and rest in the 

 moniii.g, evening, and night. This bird biulds its nest in rocks, and com. 

 noses it of small branches arranged in a circuhir form : the interior is fur- 

 nished with weeds, grass, moss, and feathers. Bufton informs us, after 

 WiUoughby, that this nest is also found on large trees, whose foliage con- 

 Btitutes its only shelter above. The female lays two whitish eggs of the 

 form and size of goose eggs. Incubation takes place in April, and frequent- 

 Iv but one young one is hatched. These birds feed their yo.mg by throw- 

 ing pieces of flesh into the nest, which the latter quit as soon as they are 

 able to fly, and accompany the parents to lie ch;ise. 



