TUE OSPREY. (ak 
materials dangling beneath. They both alight and labor together. In a 
fortnight the nest is complete, and the female deposits her eggs.” 
The nest is generally placed in a large tree in the immediate vicinity of 
the water, either along the sea-shore, on the margins of the inland lakes, or 
by some large river. It is, however, sometimes to be seen in the interior 
of a wood, a mile or more from the water. We have coneluded that, in 
the latter case, it was on account of frequent disturbance, or attempts at 
destruction, that the birds had removed from their usual haunts. ‘The nest 
is very large, sometimes measuring fully four feet across, and is composed 
of a quantity of materials sufficient to render its depth equal to its diameter. 
Large sticks, mixed with sea-weeds, tufts of strong grass, and other mate- 
rials, form its exterior, while the interior is composed of sea-weeds and finer 
grasses. We have not observed that any particular species of tree is pre- 
ferred by the Fish-Hawk. It places its nest in the fork of an oak or a pine 
with equal pleasure. But we have observed that the tree chosen is usually 
of considerable size, and not unfrequently a decayed one. 
The Fish-Hawk is gregarious, and often breeds in colonies of three or 
four nests in an area of a few acres. The males assist in incubation. 
We have heard of instances of as many as a dozen nests being found in 
the distance of half a mile on the coast of New Jersey. 
In New Eneland the species is not so plentiful, tnd seldom more than 
one nest can be found in one locality. The flight of the bird is strong, vig- 
orous, and well sustained. As he flies over the ocean, at a height of perhaps 
fifty feet, his long wings, as they beat the air in quick, sharp strokes, give 
the bird the appearance of being much larger than he really is. When he 
plunges into the water, he invariably seizes the fish (his prey) in his talons, 
and is sometimes immersed to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches in his 
efforts to capture it. He is of a peaceable disposition, and never molests 
any of his feathered: neighbors. If the nest is plundered, the parent attacks 
the intruder, and often inflicts ugly wounds in its defence. 
The eges are usually laid before the 10th of May: they are generally 
three in number. They vary considerably, both in shape, size, and mark- 
ings. Ina majority of specimens the ground color is a rich reddish-cream, 
and covered with numerous blotches of different shades of brown. In a 
number of specimens these blotches are confluent, and the primary color is 
nearly hidden. Their form yaries from nearly spherical to ovoidal, and the 
dimensions from to 2.28 to 2.44 inches in length, and from 1.65 to 1.83 in 
breadth, 
The Polyborine, of which the Caracara Eagle (Polyborus tharus) is the 
type, are “common throughout South America, being found from the shores 
of the Gulf of Mexico as far as Cape Horn. Their flight is slow and 
