4d BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS. 
OSPREY. 
PaNDION HALIATUS, Linn. 
Pl. IL, fig. 1. 
Geogr. distr.—Europe, Asia and Africa generally; also N. and §. 
America, Australia and New Zealand; in Great Britain it breeds in 
Scotland. 
Food.—Fish. 
Nest.—Formed of stout sticks, piled up to a considerable height, 
mixed with turf, sea-weed, or heather and earth, the lining (which is 
flat) composed of moss and sometimes vegetable fibre. 
Position of nest.—On trees or rocks, or the top of an old ruin. 
Number of eggs.—3-4; generally 3. 
Time of nidification.—IV-V. May. 
If in well-wooded districts, the Osprey usually selects an 
aged tree for nesting purposes; for fishing it usually 
confines its attentions almost exclusively to some one large 
piece of water until the supply grows scanty. I have seen 
what Hewitson believed to be this bird fishing at Lucerne. 
According to Newman, P. halietus probably breeds at 
Killarney and Loch Lomond; his description of the nest, 
however, seems loose, and that of the egg, “‘ of an elliptical 
form, rather less than those of a Hen,” incorrect ; it, 
however, formerly used to breed in Loch Lomond, Loch 
Awe and Killehurn Castle, and Loch Menteith; at the 
present time it probably still breeds in Inverness and 
Rosshire. 
The nest is in the form of a truncated cone, from which 
the sticks are said to project but little at the sides, ‘‘ the 
summit is of moss, very flat and even, and the cavity 
occupies a comparatively small part of it” (Yarrell). 
The following I quote from Seebohm’s ‘History of British 
Birds ’:—‘‘ Its plumage is unusually dense on the lower 
parts, as a protection against its repeated immersions in 
the water ; and the long feathers adorning the tibie of the 
land Raptores are in the Osprey replaced by short ones. 
From the peculiar form of its finny prey, the slippery 
nature of its outer surface, and its great facility of evading 
the bird’s attack, the Osprey’s feet exhibit certain well-marked 
peculiarities. The outer toe is reversible, the claws are 
remarkably curved and sharp, and the soles of the feet are 
very rough, all assisting the bird to grasp its food with 
great certainty and precision” (vol. i. pp. 58, 59). 
