FISH-HAWK, OR OSPEEY. 51 



pair took possession of the nest ; but in the course of time, the prongs 

 of the trunk so rotted away, that the nest could no longer be sup- 

 ported. The Hawks have been obliged to seTek new quarters. We have 

 lost this part of our prospect ; and our trees have not afforded a con- 

 venient site for one of their habitations since." 



About the first of May the female Fish-Hawk begins to lay her eggs, 

 wl.jeh are commonly three in number, sometimes only two, and rarely 

 four. They are somewhat larger than those of the common hen, and 

 nearly of the same shape. The ground color varies, in different eggs, 

 from a reddish cream, to nearly a white, splashed and daubed all over 

 with dark Spanish brown, as if done by art.* During the time the 

 female is sitting, the male frequently supplies her with fish ; though she 

 occasionally takes a short circuit to sea herself, but quickly returns 

 again. The attention of the male, on such occasions, is regulated by 

 the circumstances of the case. A pair of these birds, on the south side 

 of Great Egg Harbor river, and near its mouth, were noted for several 

 years. The female having but one leg was regularly furnished, while 

 sitting, with fish in such abundance, that she seldom left the nest, and 

 never to seek for food. This kindness was continued both before and 

 after incubation. Some animals who claim the name and rationality 

 of man might blush at the recital of this fact. 



On the appearance of the young, which is usually about the last 

 of June, the zeal and watchfulness of the parents are extreme. They 

 stand guard, and go off to fish, alternately ; one parent being always 

 within a short distance of the nest. On the near approach of any 

 person, the Hawk utters a plaintive whistling note, which becomes 

 shriller as she takes to wing, and sails around, sometimes making a 

 rapid descent, as if aiming directly for you ; but checking her course 

 and sweeping past at a short distance overhead, her wings making a 

 loud whizzing in the air. My worthy friend Mr. Gardiner informs me, 

 that they have been known to fix their claws in a negro's head, who 

 was attempting to climb to their nest ; and I had lately a proof of 



* Of the palatableness of these eggs I cannot speak from personal experience; 

 but the following incident will show that the experiment has actually been made. 

 A country fellow, near Cape May, on hia way to a neighboring tavern, passing a 

 tree on which was a Fish-Hawk's nest, immediately mounted and robbed it of the 

 only egg it contained, which he carried with him to the tavern,_ and desired the 

 landlord to make it into egg-nogg. The tavern-keeper, after a few wry faces, com- 

 plied with his request, and the fellow swallowed the cordial ; but, whether from 

 its effects on the olfactory nerves (for he said it smelt abominably) the imagination, 

 or on the stomach alone, is uncertain, it operated as a most outrageous emetic, 

 and cured the man, for that time at least, of his thirst for egg-nogg. What is 

 rather extraordinary, the landlord (Mr. Beasley) assured me, that to all appearance 

 the egg was perfectly fresh. 



