WILDLIFE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SALT MARSHES 21 



conditions permit, the birds are highly insectivorous, feeding on 

 grasshoppers; caterpillars, including such pests as cutworms, army- 

 worm, and cottonworm; and beetles, including billbugs and wire- 

 worms. Adults and larvae of both horseflies and mosquitoes are 

 eaten; hundreds of mosquito wigglers have been found in single 

 stomachs. Shore birds also consume water beetles and their larvae 

 that prey upon small fishes, marine worms that devour oysters, 

 ticks that carry cattle fever, and crawfishes that are destructive to 

 crops and embankments. Shore birds not only thoroughly deserve 

 protection but must have it to exist. They lay no more than three 

 or four eggs, with one laying a year, so that probably only one or 

 tAvo young are reared. Most of them perform long migrations beset 

 by hazards, and many migrate along narrow routes in which their 

 whole populations are concentrated and where they would rapidly 

 be killed off if exposed to attack by the army of hunters of today. 

 Shore birds, with the exception of a few species, have been protected 

 at all seasons ever since the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty 

 Act and, despite some poaching, have responded encouragingly to 

 protection. 



HAWKS AND EAGLES 



The osprey or fish hawk (Panclion haliaetus) (pi. 5, B), breeds all 

 along the coast and winters from the Middle Atlantic States south- 

 ward. The nests are bulky and frequently placed on tall stubs, 

 though a variety of other sites are sometimes occupied. The eggs, 

 usually three, are from white to reddish brown, heavily spotted with 

 deep brown. The fish hawk is a rather large bird (length, 21 to 25 

 inches ; spread, 54 to 72 inches) , dark above, pale below, with a good 

 deal of white about the head. The tail and wing are chiefly barred, 

 dusky, and white. The wings are long and distinctly elbowed in 

 flight. The bird hovers over the water and plunges in after its prey, 

 which consists almost entirely of fishes, though as a rule those ob- 

 tained are chiefly noncommercial varieties. Without regard to that 

 fact, it has long been looked upon with favor by fishermen, a fortu- 

 nate circumstance. The osprey is specialized to get its food from the 

 water, and it will not come to the ground even for prey it has acci- 

 dentally dropped. There seems little likelihood, therefore, of its prey- 

 ing upon poultry, rabbits, or other landlubbers. 



The bald eagle (Halweetus leucocephaliis) (pi. 5, A) lives almost 

 throughout North America and probably breeds near if not in salt 

 marshes, for it is largely a coastal bird. It is larger than the osprey, 

 being 30 to 34 inches long with a spread of 72 to 85 inches. The 

 adults are dark brown, with the entire head, neck, and tail white. 

 The long broad wings are flapped rather slowly and are much used 

 also in soaring. The young lack the white head and tail and are 

 chiefly dark, though some present a blotched appearance. Their 

 size and similarity to the adults in action and habits, however, will 

 identifv them. The nest usually is larger and placed in a higher 

 tree than that of the osprey. The eggs, usually two, are yellowish 

 white. While an expert in flight and powerful enough to capture 

 almost any of the forms of wildlife on the coast, the bald eagle is 

 by preference a scavenger. Dead fishes and other animals it finds 

 on beaches and mud flats are its most common food, though crippled 

 wild fowl are soon found and despatched and a certain proportion 



