XIII 

 OSPREY, TERN, AND GANNET 



f~ "^HE tale I have to tell of the osprey 

 is, on the whole, a sad one ; but no 

 sadder than we look for in a bird so 

 rare, so charming, and so full of in- 

 terest. The demon of slaughter pursues all we 

 most wish to live. There was when it needed 

 not to be sought for in vain. It is scarce too 

 much to say that the loch which met its wants 

 was exceptional where was no osprey. The 

 young grew up to seek out fresh scenes for them- 

 selves. New sites were occupied ; other lochs 

 were brightened. 



A fishing eagle, the osprey seeks trout. Where 

 they abound it will take pike. A less agile fish, 

 lying in wait through long intervals of sluggish 

 inaction, the pike is more easily caught. In 

 Scotland, where trout are commoner than coarser 

 fish elsewhere, we prefer to think of the osprey 

 as a trout fisher. Doubtless, too, it has the spirit 

 of a hunter, preferring the quicker fish and the 

 cleverer catch. With pike and trout in one view, 

 it will dash on the trout. 



J53 



