CH. II. osprey's nest. 27 



pulling strongly against a head wind across the 

 loch. The female osprey allowed us to approach 

 within two hundred yards or so, and then leaving 

 her nest, sailed upwards with a circling flight, till 

 she joined her mate high above us. 



Having reached the rock, and with some difficulty 

 ascended to the nest, our disappointment may be 

 imagined when we found it empty. From the old 

 bird having remained on so long, we had made sure 

 of finding eggs in it. The nest itself, however, was 

 interesting to me, perched as it was on the very sum- 

 mit of the rock, and composed of large sticks, every 

 one of which must have been a heavy burden for a 

 bird of the size of the osprey. In the centre of 

 the pile of sticks was a cup-shaped hollow, the size 

 of a boy's cap, lined with moss and dead grass, and 

 apparently quite ready to receive eggs. It was of 

 no use lamenting, so we turned our boat towards 

 the landing-place, and drifted back quickly and in 

 silence. Some hooded crows, perceiving that both 

 the ospreys were off their nest, immediately made a 

 dash towards it, and I was much amused at seeing 

 the skirmishing between these mischievous and cun- 

 ning marauders and the two ospreys ; the latter 

 fighting simply j^»ro avis etfocis, having no eggs or 

 young to defend ; while the crows fought lustily in 

 the hope only of finding something in the nest, cal- 



c2 



