PANDION HALIAETUS. 125 



is rare. It is not mentioned in Mr. Armstrong's list of the birds of the Irrawaddy delta ; it is a scarce 

 winter visitor in Tenasserim, and has not been noticed at all in the Andaman Islands. It has not been 

 observed in either Sumatra, Java, or Borneo, and to the south-east is replaced by the closely allied but 

 smaller Australian species, P. leucocephalus. 



Habits. — In Ceylon the Osprey frequents the sea-coast, salt lagoons, the estuaries of rivers, and land- 

 locked brackish lakes ; but in the several continents of the globe is also found on great rivers throughout their 

 course and on large freshwater lakes. It feeds entirely on fish, and is a most persevering fisher and skilful 

 captor of its finny prey. Its mode of precipitating itself headlong from a great height, with an almost unerring 

 aim, sometimes even disappearing under water in the force of its downward plunge, and emerging with its 

 well-caught prey, has been the admiration of all lovers of nature acquainted with this fine bird. It seizes with 

 its talons, suddenly darting out its legs as it reaches the surface, and doubtless, when striking at a fish 

 swimming somewhat beneath the surface, having thrown all its strength into the effort and acquired its 

 maximum amount of momentum, it is unable to check its progress, and consequently disappears for a moment. 

 The fact of its using its talons in taking its prey militates against all capability of pursuing it under water ; 

 and although an instance has been known, as cited by Professor Newton at page 31 of his edition of ' Yarrell's 

 British Birds,' of an Osprey having been caught in a fishing-net, it is evident that this must have been spread 

 just beneath or, more probably, on the surface of the water. When flying about not in search of food, the 

 Osprey proceeds at a moderate speed with tolerably quick and regular beatings of its long wings, and does not 

 exhibit any great powers of flight. When in pursuit of fish, however, its actions are very different. On one 

 occasion, near Trincomalie, I was startled, while intent on getting within shot of some Turnstones, by a 

 booming noise above my head, and on looking up perceived an Osprey on its headlong course into the lagoon ; 

 launching out its legs, it dashed into the water, throwing up a quantity of spray, and immediately rose again, 

 appearing to have missed its aim. Sir John Richardson remarks that should the fish have moved to too great 

 a depth, it "■ not unfrequently stops suddenly in its descent, and hovers for a few seconds in the air like a Kite 

 or Kestrel, suspending itself in the same spot by a quick flapping of its wings." I have seen it soaring at a 

 considerable height, and could always recognize it at a distance from the Sea-Eagle in Ceylon by its long wings 

 and quickly-performed circling ; on descending again, it would often perch on the top of a dead tree, or make 

 off to its favourite perch, the " guide-posts " of the channels in the shoal waters of the Jaffna peninsula. On 

 such posts in the Paumben channel it may also be seen perched on any day in the cool season. At Manaar 

 it roosts on the tops of dead and denuded palmyra trunks, coming to the same spot every evening some time 

 before sundown, and flying about the palm-grove until dark. The reversible outer toe, which is so peculiar in 

 the Osprey, and which exists to a limited extent in the Fish-Eagle, is no doubt a provision of nature to enable 

 these birds, by an onward stroke, to strike or " rake " into the flesh of their quarry with their powerful hind 

 claws, while with the anterior claws they clutch the fish which has been struck. It is stated that the Sea- 

 Eagle (Haliaetus leucogaster) frequently robs it of its prey, pursuing it until it lets fall its well-earned prize, 

 when the robber Eagle swoops down and bears it away. 



Nidification. — In the opinion of many ornithologists, the Osprey breeds within the Indian limits ; but I 

 am not aware that its eggs have been taken south of the Himalayas. Mr. Hume has seen its nest in Kumaon, 

 and Mr. Thompson believes it to breed on the Ganges above Hurdwar. Dr. Jerdon says, in his ' Birds of 

 India/ that it breeds " in this country on trees ;" but he does not seem to have procured its eggs. Elsewhere, 

 in Europe, America, and Africa, its nest has frequently been found, examined, and described by naturahsts. 

 Mr. Wilson, writing of it in America, says that it is " externally made of large sticks, from half an inch to an 

 inch and a half in diameter, and two or three in length, piled to the height of four or five feet, and from two 

 to three feet in breadth ; these were intermixed with corn-stalks, seaweed, pieces of turf in large quantities, 

 and fined with dry sea-grass, the whole forming a mass observable at half a mile distance, and large enough to 

 fill a cart, and formed no inconsiderable load for a horse." These materials are so well put together as often 

 to adhere in large fragments after being blown down by the wind. During the time the female is sitting, the 

 male frequently supplies her with fish, though she occasionally takes a short circuit to the sea herself, but 

 quickly returns again. The Fish-Hawk lays in April, May, and June in northern climes. The number of 





