American Osprey. 251 
remaining at home to guard against danger. They are raven- 
ous feeders, and soon attain to full development, when they 
resemble very closely in dress their parents, having the upper 
parts spotted with pale reddish-brown or white. Adult birds 
are dark-brown or grayish-brown above, with most of the 
head, neck and under parts white, the chest in the female, 
and sometimes in the male, being spotted with brown. The 
tail, usually paler than the back, has six or seven dusky bars, 
and is tipped with white. 
That these birds may be fitted for powerful flight they are 
provided with long and pointed wings, the second and third 
quills being the longest. They have a stout bill, with a very 
long hook and sharp end. Their feathers are oily to resist 
water, those of the head being lengthened and pointed, and of 
the thighs and a little of the front parts of the tarsi short and 
close together. The legs, tarsi and feet are very strong and 
robust, and the claws all of the same length and very large 
and sharp. Rough scales completely invest the tarsi, and 
the toes are padded below and covered with numerous hard- 
pointed projections to aid in holding their slippery prey. 
The iris in some specimens is reddish, but mostly yellow; the 
bill and claws blue-black, and the tarsi and toes grayish-blue. 
Male birds are not so large as the females, the latter measur- 
ing twenty-five inches in length, and with an extent of wings 
of fifty-two inches. 
