THE OOLOGIST. 



145 



fresh eggs sj,s early as the 7th and as 

 late as the 3d of June. Two eggs are 

 laid on the bare sand, the ground color 

 is greyish white and the egg is so 

 blotched with brownish black that it is 

 sometimes difficult to see the ground 

 color; average size 1.15 x .90. 



Bald Eagle: this bird is common in 

 this section and I have seen three or 

 four at one time. The nest is built in 

 tall bushy pines about fifty feet from 

 the ground, is made of sticks and moss 

 about five feet broad by four thick; the 

 nest is flat on top except a hollow in the 

 middle just large enough for two white 

 eggs, average size 2.75 x 2.20. 



Am. Sparrow Hawk: one of our com- 

 monest birds, no piece of timber is com- 

 plete without one or more pairs of this 

 little hawk. In spite of all that is 1 said 

 against feathered friend it is a great in- 

 sect destroyer and should be protected. 

 Nesting be'gins early in April or latter 

 part of March, as I have taken full sets 

 of eggs as early as the 5th of April. 

 The favorite nesting site is in old 'Flick- 

 er' holes from fifteen to sixty feet from 

 the ground. Out of fifteen sets that I 

 taken the last two seasons all except 

 o ne had four eggs each, the other had 

 five. The color is white, speckled with 

 reddish brown, sometimes. the ground 

 color is entirely concealed; size 1.40 x 

 1.10. 



WlLLAKD ELIOTT. 



Thonotosassa, Fla. 



The American Osprey. 

 (Pandion halioetus.) 



Surely the most interesting of all pre- 

 daceous birds is the beautiful American 

 Osprey, or Fish Hawk, whose range is 

 the whole of North America. As the 

 Osprey lives entirely upon fish, it is 

 generally found along the sea-coast or 

 along the banks of some large river or 

 lake. When fishermen see the Osprey 

 strike for a fish, they hasten to the spot 

 and draw their nets for they will be 

 sure to have a good haul. 



The Osprey breeds year after year in 

 the same spot, generally choosing the 

 top of some lofty tree as its building 

 site. It lays two or three eggs— rarely 

 four — of creamy tint and largely blotch- 

 ed with reddish-brown colorings, which 

 are generally collected around the larg- 

 er end of the egg. 



Like the Eagles, the Osprey is mono- 

 gamous, but if either of the pair dies 

 the remaining bird soon finds another 

 mate to whom it is extremely affection- 

 ate and loving. 



If the female bird looses a limb or 

 disables itself in any way, its mate in- 

 sists upon his partner staying at home 

 on the nest while he goes in search of 

 food for his hungry family. The feet 

 of the Osprey are unnaturally large in 

 comparison with the size of the bird, 

 but are just what are needed in catch- 

 ing fish. 



The flight of the Osprey is extremely 

 easy and elegant, which one would nat- 

 urally expect, as its body is but twenty- 

 two inches in length, while its breadth 

 of wing is nearly live feet and a half. 



The Osprey may be seen on a clear 

 day sailing in wide undulating circles, 

 as it hovers over the water intently 

 watching for its prey. As soon as a 

 fish comes in sight the Osprey shoots 

 down like a meteor, and dashing at the 

 luckless fish so as to raise a cloud of 

 spray, he grasps it in his strong claws 

 and bears it away in triumph to his lov- 

 iug mate, who has been watching all 

 the while, perched on a limb near her 

 young. 



In commencing to describe how the 

 Osprey is often robbed of its hard- 

 earned food, I hope all who read this 

 will pardon me for quoting just at this 

 point from what has been written by 

 an eye-witness. "The Bald Eagle, who 

 is a sort of omnipresent predator wher- 

 ever the primeval nature holds her own 

 upon the continent, sometimes makes 

 his appearance suddenly on his wide- 

 visiting wings amidst these solitudes, 



