The Osprey 



rounded by soft materials, lie two or three eggs of moderate size, rich 

 chocolate on a tinted ground. If the female is on, the male, tired of fish- 

 ing, is likely to be standing at her side. Both birds will rise upon our 

 approach, and will poise in midair above our heads, suspicious of oological 

 intent, and uttering, therefore, feeble screams, or "whistles," of protest, 

 ki-ik, ki-ik, ki-ik. 



Ospreys' eggs are unquestionably among the handsomest known. A 

 particular description of their lavenders and verona browns and choco- 

 lates might excite undue envy, and I have no desire to add to the burden 

 of the long-suffering Osprey. Oological depredations in the case of this 

 species have gone quite far enough, and the aggregate of takes boasted by 

 some eastern collectors makes the heart sick. For example, a collector 

 having the range of the Long Island Sound region once assured me that 

 he had robbed six hundred Ospreys' nests in his day. 



The home life of the Osprey is ideal, and the nesting Osprey deserves 

 protection, if for no better reason, because of the conspicuous devotion 

 of the male bird to his mate and young, and because of the touching 

 obedience of the latter. In this connection I cannot do better than quote 

 a paragraph from Mr. Skinner's excellent account 1 in "The Condor" : 



"The careful training that young Ospreys receive is further shown 

 when a nest is approached. On hearing the whistled alarm given by a 

 parent, usually the mother, the young birds throw themselves flat on the 

 floor of the nest, often with necks and wings outstretched. When the 

 observer reaches the nest, no movement is to be seen : the nestlings permit 

 one to take them up, turn them over, or place them in any position without 

 offering any sign of life beyond the half open, staring eyes. After the nest 

 is left the young Ospreys maintain their position until the parents have 

 given the reassuring signal. I have seen half-grown Ospreys hold this 

 inert posture for an hour and twenty minutes while the parents were flying 

 about or even standing on the edge of the nest, but no motion whatever 

 was made until the proper signal was sounded. Young Ospreys are not 

 fast growers, but at ten days of age begin to show black on the primaries; 

 and ten days later more distinctive markings begin to appear. From 

 thirty-five to forty-five days after hatching they leave the nest fullv 

 feathered and strong of wing." 



The American Osprey, carolinensis , is a geographical race of a species 

 which enjoys a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Unlike its sisters, 

 haliaetus haliaetus of Europe, and h. leucocephalus of Australia, the 

 American Osprey has never been known to prey upon other birds. It feeds 

 exclusively upon fish, and enjoys an almost unexampled reputation for 

 harmlessness among its feathered neighbors. On the Atlantic Coast the 



1 The Ospreys of the Yellowstone, by Mr. P. Skinner, Condor, Vol. XIX., July, 1917, pp. 117-121. 



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