468 



The Living Animals of the World 



strange for a bird of prey. Honey-buzzards appear to be exemplary parents, for they are said 

 to construct a bower of leafy boughs above the nest to screen the young from the sun, the 

 bouglis being replaced as they ■wither by fresh ones. 



The honey-buzzard occurs but rarely in England, and nowhere appears to be a very 

 common bird, though it is said to be more frequently met with in Arabia and Egypt than 

 elsewhere. On migration, however, it appears in unusually large numbers, the late Lord 

 Lilford recordinsf an occasion when he observed manv hundreds crossing the Straits of Gibraltar 

 from Spain to Africa. These were apparently on their autumnal migration to warmer winter 

 quarters. 



The dash, energy, and courage which we are wont to associate with the Hawk Tribe 

 have certainly not been manifest in the members of the order which we have examined so 

 far; but these attributes will be evident enough in the majority of the species with wdiich 

 we are now about to deal. One of the most interesting of these fiercer forms is the Osprey, 

 or FiSHiXG-HAWK. As its name implies, it feeds largely upon fish, which it captures with 

 great dexterity, seizing them either with its feet from the surface of the water, or by plunging 

 entirely beneath tlie surface, when it disappears amid a shower of spray, to emerge a moment 

 later with a fish writhing in its talons. To ensure a firm griji of its slippery ]irev, the soles 

 of its feet are armed witli rough tubercles, whilst the foot is furthermore remarkable in that 

 the outer toe can be turned backwards, so as to lie parallel with the hind toe — an arrangement 

 rare in birds of the Hawk Tribe, but characteristic of the Owls and some otlier birds. At 



times, it would seem, the osjn-ey seizes a fish too large 

 to be raised from the water, when, owing to the firm 

 hold which the claws have taken, the bird is unable 

 to release itself, and is speedily dragged beneath the 

 surface and drowned. Some have suggested that the bird 

 falls a victim, not to inability to free itself, but rather 

 to its obstinacy. 



The osprey is now rare in Great Britain, though it 

 In-eeds occasionally in the wilder parts of Scotland. It 

 enjoys an extensive range, howex-er, being found all over 

 (he world. In America it a^jpears to he very common. 

 On an island '■ off the eastern extremity of Long Island, 

 Xew York." writes Professor Newton, '• 300 nests were 

 counted. The old birds were rearing their young close 

 (ogether, living as peacealjly as so many rooks, and 

 were equally harmless to other birds." Colonies of this 

 l:ind are rare among birds of prey. 



Whilst the fiercer ra})torial birds, which hunt and 

 kill their prey, live only upon small or medium-sized 

 animals, a certain section, known as the Vultuke.s, feed 

 upon tlie carcases of tlie largest mammals which they 

 find either in the throes of deatli or already dead, and 

 even far advanced in decomposition. Gathering to the 

 feast in large crowds, even the largest bodies are soon 

 demolislied ; and on this account the vultures are to be 

 reckoned amongst the most useful of birds, speeddy 

 removing matter which in hot countries would rapidly 

 endanger the health of neighbotu'ing communities. 



]\Iany years ago a great controversy was waged o\-er 

 the question of the faculty which guides tlie vulture 

 in the discovery of its food, since it was a matter of 

 common knowledge that the traveller might sweep the 



PIloIu Oij ir. v. Ihuijlij, F./..H.. RcjrilCs I . 



]0(;yi"1']an Krrn. 



Fecilin^'on q:it\r.v, 



'>( nil kinds, kites jii'e useful birds in 

 bot conntfios. 



