AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 5 



catching them in their talons; again they will stand in shallow water and 

 strike at them with their bills, heron fashion; often they will rob the 

 Fish Hawk of his skillfully gotten prey. The pursuit of an Osprey has 

 been told, times innumerable. Suffice it is to say that the Eagle from 

 his outlook watches the Osprey catch his fish, then pursues him; by 

 superior speed and strength, he at length overtakes his victim, and the 

 latter to save himself, drops the fish which is caught in mid air by the 

 Eagle. 



Because of being shot at so persistently, they are very wary, and will 

 not, knowingly, allow any one to approach near. They are very cour- 

 ageous and if wounded will put up a plucky fight for their life. They 

 have been known to attack human beings without provocation, but such 

 instances are very rare, and must be occasioned by extreme hunger. 



These birds are frequently seen in captivity, and are often kept for 

 years. It must be hard though for a bird of their wild disposition, used 

 to soaring through unlimited space, to be chained down or confined to 

 the narrow boundaries of a cage. I hope soon to see them protected by 

 law, in addition to sentiment, in all states. While the real good they 

 do is limited to what carrion they destroy, the harm they do is limited 

 also, and I think that we all will forgive the "emblem of our republic" 

 if occasionally he makes a meal on some of the other birds, especially 

 as the ones chosen by him have really no value to the community greater 

 than that possessed by the Eagle. 



LONG^BILLED CURLEW, 



A. O. r. No. 264. (Numenius longirostris.) 



RANGE. 



With the exception of the extreme northern part, this Curlew is found 

 over the whole of North America. It is very irregularly distributed, 

 and breeds along the South Atlantic coast and in the interior of its 

 range. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, about 25 in.; extent, 39 in.; tail, 4 in.; bill, from 6 to 8 in., 

 and greatly curved. Eye, bill and feet, brown. General color above 

 and below, dull yellowish red, lightest on the throat. The top of head, 

 neck, breast and back are streaked and the wings and tail barred with 

 dark brown. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



The nest of this bird is simply a hollow in the ground. They line it 

 sparingly with a few grasses and during May and June lay three of four 

 eggs. These are of a greenish yellow color, and heavily blotched with 

 brown. 



