4i8 THE AMERICAN OSPREY. 



the water, but rising again quickly witii a fish firmly secured in its talons. 

 The bird upon rising immediately adjusts the catch, placing it head foremost 

 so that it will offer the least resistance to the air in flight. Not infrequently 

 the Hawk secures a fish which it is barely able to handle, and occasionally it 

 strikes one so large that it is drawn under and drowned before it can disen- 

 gage its claws. 



Besides providing for a hungry family at home, this hard-working bird 

 is purveyor in ordinary to His Majesty, the Bald Eagle, and upon the sug- 

 gestion df the latter bird meekly drops its catch only to see it eagerly snatched 

 in midair by the lazy tyrant. Pitifully screaming he turns back to the weary 

 chase, for he must not go home empty-handed. 



The nest, a huge aggregation of sticks and trash, is placed normally near 

 the water's ed'ge upon the cliffs or upon rocks projecting in mid-stream or 

 else high in a neighboring tree. Persecution, however, will drive it to the 

 deep woods miles from its fishing grounds. A typical nest, found on the 

 banks of the Columbia River, is" placed twenty-five feet high in a stout pine 

 tree. It is flat on top, three feet across, but seven feet in depth, the mass 

 representing the successive accumulation of many years, perhaps of genera- 

 tions. Within a little depression in the center, surrounded by soft materials, 

 lie three handsome eggs, rich chocolate on a tinted ground. The female is 

 on while her mate, tired of fishing, is standing by her side. Both rise at our 

 approach and poise in midair above our heads, uttering feeble screams of pro- 

 test as they suspect our oological purpose. A pair of Magpies have made 

 their nest within the hospitable sides of this ancient pile, and these self- 

 appointed camp followers add their voices to the general din. 



Eggs are deposited in May and incubation lasts three and four weeks. 

 Unlike the Eagle, the Osprey, if robbed, will make another attempt the same 

 season, but lays usually not more than two eggs the second time. 



Of the present breeding range of the Osprey it is difficult to form a just 

 conclusion. No nests are known to me, nor have any been reported definitely 

 within the state. A canoe trip of 150 miles down the Ohio River failed to 

 discover any sign of occupation by these birds. It is pretty certain, however, 

 that one or two pairs breed in the vicinity of the three large reservoirs, and 

 it is very probable that they nest somewhere along the Lake Erie shore. 



