L 





AMERICAN OSPREY. 



(Mhl< 



A -■ p 



— V ' s 

 VOL. 1. 



ASHLAND, KY., APRIL, 1890. 



NO. 4. 



THE OSPREY. 



Tlu Osprey saihabove the sound. 



The geese art gone, the, gulls are flying. 



— Alexander Wilson. 



In this locality (Boston, Mass.) tbe 

 male birds begin to arrive about the 

 middle of April and sail above the sound, 

 and also look for a nesting-site in some 

 large tree. They are not very partial to 

 any special kind of tree, for a pine, oak, 

 maple or almost any large tree near 

 water is good enough for them, often 

 they use the same nest for years if not 

 disturbed too much, but if disturbed 

 they usually retire to a more secluded 

 locality, sometimes even away from the 

 water. After the males have been here 

 a week or two the females come, and 

 together they build a nest or patch up 

 their old one, often making it four feet 

 in diameter and as deep as it is wide. It 

 is composed of sea-weed, sticks and 

 sometimes in May contains two, three or 

 four eggs, which (provided the nest is 

 not found by some small boy able to 

 climb up to it) in due course of time 

 turn into young Fish Hawks. The eggs 

 may lie almost any size from 1.60x2.30 t., 

 1.90x2.56, (Maynard) creamy or purplish, 

 spotted and blotched with brown or um- 

 ber. Ospreys never quarrel, and when 

 once mated I think they are mated for 

 life — differing from some of the genus 

 homo who profess to be human in this 

 respect. They are of so peaceful a dis- 

 position that other birds, especially 

 grackles, often place their nests in the 

 same tree with the Osprey's and some- 

 times even anion.-- the sticks which com- 

 pose its nest. And well they may be of 

 a peaceful disposition, for though called 

 • •arniv >rous they never eat anything but 



fish, which they always catch themselves, 

 butthey do not eat all the fish they catch 

 by any means, for only too often they get 

 their ducking and their fish only to be 

 robbed by the Bald Eagle. The Osprey 

 is not often found far from water. I 

 know of one instance where one was 

 blown inland a distance of fifteen miles 

 by a hard storm, where he alighted on 

 the top of a tall flagstaff and was shot- 

 He, or rather she, now occupies a place 

 in the cabinet of a friend and companion 

 of mine on many a collecting trip. 



"He" (the Osprey) is a large female, 

 more than two feet long; color, above, 

 dark umber brown, beneath, pure white, 

 with a few slight spots of yellowish 

 brown on the breast — a beautiful speci- 

 men. 



.Sometimes I see two or three Ospreys 

 ten or fifteen miles inland during the 

 migrations, but they are usually very 

 high up and can only be seen to good 

 advantage with a powerful glass, but 

 their long, curved wings can be seen 

 well with the naked eye. though a glass 

 often makes the identification more pos- 

 itive. * * * 



HINTS FOR OOLOGISTS. 



The season is nearly here when you 

 will be in the woods and fields hunting 

 for birds nests and eggs. 



Have your instruments in tirst-class 

 order, ami have them where you will 

 know where they are at once. 



Never take a set for the fun it affords, 

 and always rill out a data blank for every 

 set of eggs taken. 



It is a good plan to collect nests ton. 

 and all one needs to collect them is a 

 basket and spool cotton to wrap the nests 

 i Continued on 3d ) age. | 



