146 



THE OOLOGIST. 



that seem rightly to the Fish-hawk 

 alone. His hoarse bark startles the 

 deep silence from afar, and every nat- 

 ural sound is mute. Wheeling grandly 

 amidst the dim blue cliffs, he subsides 

 on slow and royal spread upon some 

 blasted pine beside the lake-river, and 

 with quick short screaming, announces 

 to awed nature that its winged monarch 

 has come down to rest. The friendly 

 Fish-hawks, in silent consternation, 

 dart hither and yon in vexed uncertain 

 flight, and tiny songsters dive into the 

 deep thickets, while the shadow of that 

 dread sound passes over all. But now 

 the kingly bird grows quiet, and with 

 many a shift of feet and restless lift of 

 wing — while fierce far-darting eyes are 

 taking in all the capabilities of his new 

 perch — he sinks into an attitude of deep 

 repose, one yellow-heated eye upturned, 

 watching the evolutions of the startled 

 Fish-hawks, whose movement, becom- 

 ing less and less irregular as they wheel 

 to and fro, gradually subsides into the 

 measured windings of their habitual 

 flight in seeking prey, while the buzz, 

 the hum, the chirup, the chatter, and 

 the carol creep up once again, and na- 

 ture becomes voiceful in her happy si- 

 lence." 



Then the Osprey, at last quieted, 

 sweeps down from on high, and grasp- 

 ing a fish in his claws he soars away ut- 

 tering an exultant scream. Now is the 

 time for the couchant tyrant, and ele- 

 vating his war-crest and spreading his 

 wings, the Bald Eagle leaps upward in 

 pursuit. The Osprey becoming alarmed 

 wheels upward with all the strength of 

 his powerful wings, but as the Eagle 

 approaches nearer and nearer, the poor 

 Fish-hawk loosing all hope of escape, 

 utters one last despairing cry and drop- 

 ping its would-be prey, sails away to 

 seek its rest upon the branches of some 

 tall pine. But the Eagle poising for a 

 second, as if to make more certain his 

 aim, drops like a shot upon the falling 

 fish and clutching it just as it reaches 



the water, he soars away, with boastful 

 pride to a spot where he can either 

 hoard or eat his stolen meal. 



Sometimes, however, the Ospreys 

 congregate to defend their rights and 

 then it generally goes hard with the 

 overbearing tyrant. A gentleman who 

 witnessed a scene of this kind, says of 

 the Ospreys: "They seemed to have 

 formed a sort of colony for mutual pro- 

 tection, and the moment their foe, the 

 Eagle, made his appearance among 

 them, the cry of alarm was raised, and 

 the vigilant colonists, hurrying from al 

 quarters, attacked the robber without 

 hesitation, and always succeeded in 

 driving him away. 



There was always a desperate battle 

 first before the savage monarch could 

 be routed, and I have seen them 

 gathered about him in such numbers, 

 whirling and tumbling amidst a chaos 

 of floating feathers through the air, 

 that it was impossible for a time to dis- 

 tinguish which was the Eagle, until, 

 having got enough of it against such 

 fearful odds, he would fain turn tail, 

 and with most undignified acceleration 

 of flight would dart toward the covert 

 of the heavy forest to hide his baffled 

 royalty, and shake off his pertinacious 

 foes amidst the boughs. "' 



The general color of the Osprey is 

 dark brown, but it is pleasing A'ariega- 

 ted with various shades of black, gray 

 and white, making it a truly elegant 

 bird. The crown of the head and nape 

 of the neck are covered with long gray- 

 white feathers streaked with dark 

 brown, while the under surface is white, 

 with the exception of a light brown 

 band which extends across the breast. 

 The primaries are brown tipped with 

 black, and the tail is barred above with 

 a light and a deep brown, and below 

 with brown and white. The legs, toes, 

 and cere and blue, while the eyes are of 

 a golden yellow hue, and the beak and 

 claws black . 

 I cannot end without again mention- 



