BIRDS OF PREY. 129 
animals. In one eyrie in Germany were found the skele- 
tons of three hundred ducks and forty hares; but the 
owner of the nest had undoubtedly killed, besides these, 
many sheep, fawns, ete., which it had stripped of their 
flesh, they being too large to be carried away entire to 
such a height. 
220. The Osprey, or Fishing Hawk, Fig. 107, an aber- 
rant species of Eagle, is 
spread over the whole of 
Kurope, a part of Asia, 
and also portions of North 
America. As its name 
indicates, it lives on fish, 
which it obtains by dash- 
ing down into the water. 
Its nest is composed of 
sticks, sea- weed, grass, 
and turf, laid among the 
. branches ofa tree. As it 
| is repaired and added to 
every year, there is some- 
times enough to make a 
cart-load. This bird, besides living on fish, differs from 
the true Eagles also in having the legs covered with 
scales instead of feathers. 
221. The White-headed or Bald Eagle inhabits most 
parts of North America. It is the figure of this Eagle 
which is on the national standard of this country. The 
food of this bird is various. While it preys on such an- 
imals as lambs, pigs, etc., it will eat fish whenever it can 
take it from the Fishing Hawk. If it sees this bird rise 
from the water with a fish in its talons, it starts off at 
once in the pursuit. Wilson thus describes the struggle 
that ensues: “ Each exerts his utmost to mount above 
the other, displaying, in these rencounters, the most ele- 
gant and sublime aerial evolutions. The unencumbered 
Eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reach- 
Pe 
Fig. 107.—Osprey. 
