68 THE FISH HAWK, OR OSPREY. 



before he reaches it, he is seen to expand his wings and tail, and in this 

 manner he glides towards his beloved female, in a beautifully curved line. 

 The female partially raises herself from her eggs, emits a low cry, resumes 

 her former posture, and her delighted partner flies off to the sea, to seek a 

 favourite fish for her whom he loves. 



The young are at length hatched. The parents become more and more 

 fond of them, as they grow up. So truly parental becomes the attachment 

 of the old birds, that an attempt to rob them of those dear fruits of their love, 

 generally proves more dangerous than profitable. Should it be made, the 

 old birds defend their brood with great courage and perseverance, and even 

 sometimes, with extended claws and bill, come in contact with the assailant, 

 who is glad to make his escape with a sound skin. 



The young are fed until fully fledged, and often after they have left the 

 nest, which they do apparently with great reluctance. I have seen some as 

 large as the parents, filling the nest, and easily distinguished by the white 

 margins of their upper plumage, which may be seen with a good glass at a 

 considerable distance. So much fish is at times carried to the nest, that a 

 quantity of it falls to the ground, and is left there to putrify around the foot 

 of the tree. Only one brood is raised each season. 



The Fish Hawk seldom alights on the ground, and when it does so, walks 

 with difficulty, and in an extremely awkward manner. The only occasions 

 on which it is necessary for them to alight, are when they collect materials 

 for the purpose of repairing their nest, or for building a new one, in spring. 



I have found this bird in various parts of the interior of the United States, 

 but always in the immediate neighbourhood of rivers or lakes. When I first 

 removed to Louisville in Kentucky, several pairs were in the habit of raising 

 their brood annually on a piece of ground immediately opposite the foot of 

 the Falls of the Ohio in the State of Indiana. The ground belonged to the 

 venerable General Clark, and I was several times invited by him to visit 

 the spot. Increasing population, however, has driven off the birds, and few 

 are now seen on the Ohio, unless during their migrations to and from Lake 

 Erie, where I have met with them. 



I have observed many of these birds at the approach of winter, sailing 

 over the lakes near the Mississippi, where they feed on the fish which the 

 Wood Ibis kills, the Hawks themselves being unable to discover them whilst 

 alive in the muddy water with which these lakes are filled. There the 

 Ibises wade among the water in immense flocks, and so trample the bottom 

 as to convert the lakes into filthy puddles, in which the fishes are unable to 

 respire with ease. They rise to the surface, and are instantly killed by the 

 Ibises. The whole surface is sometimes covered in this manner with dead 

 fish, so that not only are the Ibises plentifully supplied, but Vultures, Eagles 



