58 BRITISH BIRDS. 



From the excessive rarity of the Osprey in our islands, British ornitho- 

 logists have but little opportunity of adding much original matter to its 

 life-history. But in North America the Osprey is one of the commonest 

 of raptorial birds, consequently its habits have been studied closely. 

 Wilson has thus graphically portrayed the habits of this bird : — " The 

 flight of the Fish-Hawk, his manoeuvres while in search of fish, and his 

 manner of seizing his prey are deserving of particular notice. In leaving 

 the nest he usually flies direct till he comes to the sea, then sails around 

 in easy curving lines, turning sometimes in the air as on a pivot, appa- 

 rently without the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs ex- 

 tended in a straight line behind, and his remarkable length and curvature 

 or bend of wing distinguishing him from all other Hawks. The height at 

 which he thus elegantly glides is various, from one hundred to one hundred 

 and fifty and two hundred feet, sometimes much higher, all the while 

 calmly reconnoitring the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to 

 check his course, as if struck by a particular object, which he seems to 

 survey for a few moments with such steadiness that he appears fixed in 

 air, flapping his wings. This object, however, he abandons, or rather the 

 fish he had in his eye has disappeared, and he is again seen sailing around 

 as before. Now his attention is again arrested, and he descends with 

 great rapidity ; but ere he reaches the surface shoots ofi' on another course, 

 as if ashamed that a second victim had escaped him. He now sails at a 

 short height above the surface, and by a zigzag descent, and without 

 seeming to dip his feet in the water, seizes a fish, which, after carrying a 

 short distance, he probably drops, or yields up to the Bald Eagle, and 

 again ascends by easy spiral circles to higher regions of the air, where he 

 glides about in all the ease and majesty of his species." 



Whether the Osprey is a partially nocturnal bird it is difiicult to deter- 

 mine ; but Mr. Booth mentions the fact that he has repeatedly heard this 

 bird calling in the darkness when in the neighbourhood of its nest. Its 

 note is neither loud nor harsh ; nor is the bird by any means a noisy one. 

 It resembles the syllables kai, kai, kai ; and its alarm-note consists of a 

 harsh but not loud scream. 



An examination of some of the most prominent organs of the Osprey 

 shows how fitted it is to its peculiar conditions of life. Fishes form the 

 Osprey's only food, which it clutches fi-om their native element when 

 swimming on or near the surface. Its long and powerful wrings enable it 

 to fly great distances and remain in the air for long periods of time in 

 search of its finny prey. 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 tibicC 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 



