CH. III. OLD NEST OF OSPREY, 37 



hatching her eggs, in the wilds of Sutherland. In 

 one island, containing a few stunted birch-trees, we 

 saw an old osprey's nest, not now tenanted ; but I am 

 told that the old birds were inhabiting it two years 

 ago. The nest was most interesting : it was placed 

 in a fork of the tree so low that we could see into it 

 without climbing, and it consisted of a perfect cart- 

 load of sticks, varying from the size of a very stout 

 walking-stick down to the twigs of birch and heather 

 of which the inner part of the fabric was com- 

 posed. I did not measure the nest, but as nearly 

 as I could guess, it was not less than eight feet in 

 length, and nearly four in width ; the depth too 

 was very great ; the inner lining was composed of a 

 coarse kind of grass that grows in these islands. 

 Although the nest must have weathered many a 

 winter storm of wind, snow, and rain, and was quite 

 bleached, it was still fixed firmly in the fork of the 

 birch-tree. To have seen the ospreys building up 

 this great and strong mass would have repaid one 

 for a journey of many a long mile. 



Wilson mentions that in America the osprey 

 builds constantly in trees, but in this country it 

 seldom does so, probably from the want of trees 

 suitable for the purpose. I have been told, how- 

 ever, that a nest is still to be seen on a tree in one 

 of the large pine-woods in Strathspey. 



