FISH-HAWK, OR OSPREY 



23 



to the neck behind, which, as well as the whole upper parts is deep 

 brown, the edges of the feathers lighter; shafts of the wing quills 

 brownish white ; tail slightly rounded, of rather a paler brown than 

 the body, crossed with eight bars of very dark brown ; the wings 

 when shut extend about an inch beyond the tail, and are nearly 

 black towards the tips; the inner vanes of both quill and tail fea- 

 thers are whitish, barred with brown ; whole lower parts pure white 

 except the thighs, which are covered with short plumage and streak- 

 ed down the fore part with pale brown ; the legs and feet are a very 

 pale light blue, prodigiously strong and disproportionably large, they 

 are covered with flat scales of remarkable strength and thickness, 

 resembling when dry the teeth of a large rasp, particularly on the 

 soles, intended no doubt to enable the bird to seize with more secu- 

 rity his slippery prey ; the thighs are long, the legs short, feathered 

 a little below the knee, and as well as the feet and claws large ; the 

 latter hooked into semicircles, black, and very sharp pointed ; the 

 iris of the eye a fiery yellow orange. 



The female is full two inches longer ; the upper part of the 

 head of a less pure white, and the brown streaks on the front spread- 

 ing more over the crown ; the throat and upper part of the breast are 

 also dashed with large blotches of a pale brown, and the bar pass- 

 ing through the eye, not of so dark a brown. The toes of both are 

 exceedingly strong and warty, and the hind claw a full inch and a 

 quarter in diameter. The feathers on the neck and hind head are 

 long and narrow, and generally erected when the bird is irritated, 

 resembling those of the Eagle. The eye is destitute of the project- 

 ing bone common to most of the Falcon tribe, the nostril large, and 

 of a curving triangular shape. On dissection the two glands on the 

 rump which supply the bird with oil for lubricating its feathers to 

 protect them from the wet, were found to be remarkably large, ca- 

 pable when opened of admitting the end of the finger and contain- 

 ed a large quantity of white greasy matter, and some pure yellow 

 oil; the gall was in small quantity ; the numerous convolutions and 



