The Osprey 



Caracara is a "terror to snakes" there can be no question, nor that he is a 

 terror to lambs in their tender youth, and a terror to humans after he has 

 been banqueting upon the remains of a silent but unforgetable cow. 



The Caracara is a comparatively active bird both on the wing and 

 on the ground. Its wing action is rapid, but its progress is scarcely 

 commensurate with the appearance of effort. The rather elongated tarsus 

 fits the bird for walking, and it seems to spend a good deal of time on 

 the ground, where it seizes beetles and lizards, as well as snakes and 

 rodents. Dr. Merrill i has described its pursuit of a jack rabbit. The 

 quarry was not secured by a stoop or pounce, as of falcon or redtail; 

 the rabbit was simply pursued through its devious twistings and bound- 

 ings until overtaken — fair sport, it must be confessed. According to the 

 same authority, no lucky captor, whether of snake or field mouse, was left 

 in undisturbed possession. For if one of its companions spied it, a chase 

 and a squabble followed. 



The Caracaras do not bear a good reputation with the smaller feath- 

 ered fraternity. If one attempts to alight in a mesquite tree at nesting 

 time, it is immediately set upon by the lesser fry and pestered until it is 

 glad to escape. Once I saw a young Caracara which endeavored to stand 

 its ground under the assaults of an irate shrike. The Buzzard was a 

 youngster or he would have known better. His head was small; his 

 "build" was lean, almost emaciated, "high hung," too, like a Shanghai 

 cockerel. As often as the shrike struck, the hawk ducked his head and 

 lurched forward upon his absurdly long shanks, and just as we looked to see 

 him topple over, caught himself midair with a suddenly flared tail. 



Under persecution, such as is the inevitable portion of every bird of 

 prey, the Caracara has learned cunning. He is both shy and wary, and 

 he knows the meaning of a gun all too well. Their numbers are steadily 

 decreasing in the United States, but further south, where their services 

 as scavengers are more highly valued, they are likely to maintain them- 

 selves for years to come. 



No. 324 



Osprey 



A. O. U. No. 364. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis (Gmelin). 

 Synonym. — Fish Hawk. 



Description. — Adult male: Upperparts dark brown (with considerable varia- 

 bility of individual feathers as in the Golden Eagle); tip of wing lustrous black; tail 



1 Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club. Vol. VII., 1882, p. 173. 

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