J2G 



ORDERS OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 



flying five miles with it, must appeal to every 

 man and boy who loves the grasp of a good rod, 

 and the musical click of a reel. 



The boat trip up the Shrewsbury River, from 

 New York to Long Branch, is worth taking in 

 midsummer solely for the sight of the Ospreys, 

 winging slowly over the still lagoon, stalking 

 their finny prey, and anon plunging with a loud 



AMERICAN OSPREY. 



into the water. Sometimes the bold 

 go quite out of sight. The most sur- 



splash 



fishers 



prising thing about such performances is the 



size of the fish that an Osprey can lift and carry 



away. 



In carrying a fish, an Osprey always grasps 

 it on the back, with one talon well ahead of the 

 other, and the head of the fish pointing straight 

 forward. This is to secure a minimum of resist- 

 ance from the air, and render it an easy matter 

 to steer the prize to the home-nest, or to a tall 

 tree on which it may be devoured at leisure. It 

 is no wonder that a three-pound Osprey carrying 

 a one-pound fish is moved to jettison his cargo 

 when he sees a hostile bald eagle bearing down 

 upon him with empty claws and his decks 

 cleared for action. 



The story of the Ospreys of Gardiner's Island 

 is a most interesting chapter in bird-life. The 

 owner of that island is a relentless enemy to 

 cats and gunners, and a fierce protector of all 

 the wild life on the island, which is wholly his. 

 His weapons are loaded for hunters only, and 

 for several years the Ospreys have bred regu- 

 larly around Mr. Gardiner's house, and all over 

 the island. A pair of birds occupies the same 

 nest year after year, adding to the mass each 

 year, until the nest contains a wagon-load of 

 sticks of many sizes, and measures six feet in 

 diameter. To-day, strange to relate, some of 

 the Ospreys are nesting practically upon the 

 ground, serenely confident of their security from 

 all harm. 



The Osprey is built like a light-weight athlete, 

 all bone, tendon, hard muscle and wing-power, 

 and no fat. Its long, half-naked legs and pow- 

 erful claws remind one of patent grappling- 

 hooks. The wings are long and acutely pointed, 

 going well beyond the end of the tail. The 

 whole neck and lower surface of the bird is white, 

 but the back, wings, and upper surface of the 

 tail is dark colored, as also is the upper half of 

 the head. The plumage is compact, smooth 

 and oily, as befits a diving-bird. 



In summer this bird is at home on the sea- 

 coast from Alaska and Hudson Bay to the Gulf 

 of Mexico, and along a few rivers, but in winter 

 it migrates to southern Florida, the West Indies 

 and northern South America. 



The jaunty little Sparrow-Hawk 1 is the 

 smallest American hawk, and also the most 

 beautiful. Its form is elegant, and its colors 

 are varied and pleasing. As if desirous of ad- 

 miration, it tolerates man at shorter range than 

 any other hawk I know. Its cap is dull blue, 

 its throat white with black side-patches, and its 

 upper neck and back are bright rusty brown. Its 

 breast is salmon color, sparingly spotted, its 

 knickerbockers are wdiite, and its tarsi and feet 

 are bright yellow. It inhabits the whole United 

 States, and on northward to Great Slave Lake, 

 but I think it is most plentiful on the prairie 

 farms of the middle West. 



As a destroyer of grasshoppers, beetles, crick- 

 ets, caterpillars and other insect enemies, this 

 little Hawk deserves to rank with the birds most 

 beneficial to man. For so small a bird, the 



1 Fal'co spar-ve'ri-us. Length, 9 to 10 inches. 



