Sept. 1886.] 

AND OOLOGIST. 
133 

Occurs here about the same as the preceding, 
though on the whole were common and local. 
Pyrrhulovia sinuata, (Texan Cardinal) A com- 
mon resident. Breeds in the northern portion. 
Observed in winter. 
Pipilo fuscus mesoleucus, (Canon Towhee). A 
common summer resident of the Rio Grande 
valley and some distance southward. Breeds. 
(To be Continued.) 
ee 
A Day Among the Ospreys. 

BY F. W. ANDROS, TAUNTON, MASS. _ 

Our former trips to the “Osprey Colony” on 
Palmer’s River, had been so successful and pleas- 
ureable that we planned another early the past 
spring. The party consisted of my friend Mr. F. H. 
C.,my brother Mr. C. H. Andros, and the writer. 
We concluded we would celebrate the thirteenth 
anniversary of our triends’ visits to this colony 
by making the tripon May 10th. Accordingly, 
with this purpose in view, we met on the evening 
of the 8th, at our friend’s house, where arrange- 
ments were made for our trip, a rough sketch of 
the territory we were to visit was made on paper, 
climbers were put in good shape, hunting suits 
placed in their appoirted corner and plans laid 
for a successful day’s work. The following day 
being Sunday we laid over and rested, but impa- 
tient for the 10th to appear, we retired early and 
arose at 12.30 a. m., and donned our hunting rigs, 
then prepared for the trip by sitting down toa 
hot breakfast, after which we gathered together 
our climbers, ropes and knapsacks aid left the 
house before 2 a. m., taking a road which led us 
south some eight miles or so, all the while de- 
scending gradually into a large valley through 
which the Palmer’s River flows, over which we 
crossed several times owing to its winding course. 
Before we enter upon the trip proper, I will give 
a brief description of the nests. These are placed 
in open fields or along the roadsides, as well as in 
thickly wooded swamps, frequently a consider- 
able distance from any water, but generally with- 
in a short distance of some stream or pond. 
They are composed of a jarge mass of sticks (of 
all sizes), twigs, brush and rubbish heaped to- 
gether, regardless of external appearance, and 
lined with sea-weed, twigs, cedar bark, eel grass, 
corn-stalks and other materials, the whole form- 
ing an immense structure ranging from four to 
six feet high and as many across the top, on which 
one can safely seat himself and pack the contents 
at his leisure,—said top having been reached. 
These immense structures are added to in the fall 
of each year for the purpose of strengthening 
them so as to withstand the winter storms, and 
are repaired on the return of the birds in the 
spring. This necessarily increases their size each 
year and serves as a good indication of their age. 
Various trees are selected for building purposes— 
walnut, oak, chestnut, locust, elm, buttonwood, 
pine and others—no partiality seems to be shown 
on this score, the main object being to place the 
nests out of reach, and it is quite successfully car- 
ried out; too, for it takes an expert climber to 
ascend to half of the nests in the colony. Some 
are actually impossible to be reached, while others 
overhang to such an extent that it would only be 
risking life and limb to attempt to get them. The 
height at which the nests are placed varies con- 
siderably, according to location; from twenty to 
eighty feet would cover those in the northern sec- 
tion of the colony. Those in open situations were, 
as a rule, placed the highest from the ground, and 
were as well the most difficult to reach; while 
the contrary has been observed where the nests 
were placed in unfrequented or secluded swamps. 
These nests are very deceptive in appearance, 
even when viewed from a near standpoint, but by 
climbing up to the structures one can form a very 
good idea of their size. The nest having been 
reached—the easiest part of the journey—the 
question arises how to reach or get over into it, 
which is the most difficult part of the job, especial- 
ly when the climber is fifty or more feet from the 
ground, near the top of a dead tree that shakes 
with every prod of the spurs. 
The Ospreys are welcomed on their return in 
the spring and protected by the farmers, to whom 
they have proved beneficial in more ways than 
one. They hunt over their pastures for field 
mice, frogs, toads and snakes, and protect the 
farm-yard from the onslaughts of the other Rap- 
tores, when their nest is placed near by. These 
birds are erratic in their movements when con- 
tinually disturbed, frequently leaving their homes 
and re-building at some distance, and often in an- 
other colony. We had now reached the colony, 
which is spread over a large territary and contains 
no less than two hundred nests, and it still lacked 
an hour of daylight, but we entered a large pas- 
ture and crossed to a large spreading chestnut 
tree which has held an immense nest for several 
years. All was still. The tree was rapped smart- 
ly with a stout stick but no response from the 
nest, neither could we make out the form of a 
bird in it. This we were not very much sur- 
prised at, for it is difficult to cause them to leave 
their nests during the night. It held a set of two 
eggs on May 8, 1885, so heavily marked with 
dark brown as to conceal the ground color, but 
from appearances was deserted this season. Soon 
the gray of dawn appeared in the east and the 
