THE OSPREY 



at last came within fair distance ; I fired, and shot her. 

 Not content with this, the gamekeeper and I ascended 

 the ruin, and, finding nothing in the nest but a large 

 sea-trout, half-eaten, we set it in a trap, and returning, 

 after two or three hours, found the male caught by 

 the legs. They were a beautiful pair : the female, as in 

 most birds of prey, being considerably the largest; the 

 woodcut is a most correct likeness. The eggs of these 

 ospreys had been regularly taken every year, and yet 

 they never forsook their eyrie. It was a beautiful sight 

 to see them sail into our bay on a calm summer night, 



