fishing-stake, to a rock, for taking its meals upon ; 

 but, of course, when the captured fish is heavy the 

 birds avail themselves of the first convenient dinner- 

 table, and I have more than once seen them alight 

 with their prey on the bare sandy shore. In the 

 case of large fishes I think that the Osprey seldom 

 touches the head, and certainly avoids the larger bones. 

 I have found the almost entire skeletons of large 

 mullets with heads and tails intact, but with every 

 scrap of flesh and skin devoured by our birds. 



The appearance of the Osprey on wing is most 

 singularly graceful, the long and, comparatively speaking, 

 narrow wings, and the peculiar angle at which they 

 are spread whilst the bird is hunting for its prey, 

 distinguish it at any distance from any other European 

 species. Although this bird very frequently hovers 

 for a second or two before making its stoop, it generally 

 dashes at its ' quarry ' from a certain height, and often 

 seems simply to lift it from the water in its talons. 

 On the other hand, it is common to see the Osprey 

 plunge headlong below the surface for an instant ; 

 I need hardly say that it does not pursue fishes under 

 water. The method of the Osprey differs from that 

 of the Falcons in this particular, that whereas the latter 

 birds on missing their quarry at the first stoop almost 

 invariably mount before making a second, the present 

 bird, if its intended victim moves during the stoop, 

 checks its flight for a moment and makes another 

 attempt from the lower " pitch." I trust that my 

 readers will pardon my use of the technical terms of 

 falconry in treating of a fish-eating bird, but I can 



