ON EAGLES. 277 



island, and found the female was missing, and the nest 

 harried. They have never hatched there since : the male 

 has been frequently seen, but he has never found another 

 mate. When they had young, they did not confine their 

 depredations to Loch Menteith, but used to go, in quest of 

 prey, to the other lochs in the neighbourhood ; and, in the 

 evening, would fly down the glen, carrying a fish a foot 

 long in their claws. 



The nest of the osprey is lined with coarse water- 

 plants and grasses: the outside fenced with thick sticks, 

 some of them four inches round, and three feet and a half 

 long proof enough of the strength of its legs and wings. 

 The eggs are as large as a hen's, with reddish-brown spots. 

 The osprey is about the size of the herring-gull; the 

 breast nearly white, spotted with brown ; back and wings 

 dull brown; the thighs very muscular; legs and claws, 

 which are of a bluish flesh-colour, equally so. 



