much less gracefully performed than in the case of the Kestrel, the wings having rather a heavy flapping 
motion. I saw' it make a descent into the bed of the river, which was well and quickly done ; but bushes 
concealed the surface of the stream, and, if the bird touched the water, I did not see it ; it rose, apparently 
without a fish. It was interrupted by a Heron coming from a great height in the air, screaming round it 
with outstretched neck, and every sign of indignation and alarm. The Osprey wheeled up in spiral circles 
to get above the Heron, and then soared off across the hills towards the valley of the Don. It appeared 
to examine carefully a hit of moor over which it passed, but did not hover.” 
Mr. St. John, in his Tour in Sutherlandshire, says, “ I generally saw the Osprey fishing about the lower 
pools of the rivers, near their mouths ; and a beautiful sight it is. The long-winged bird hovers (as a 
Kestrel does over a mouse) at a considerable distance above the water, sometimes on perfectly motionless 
W'ings, and sometimes wheeling slowdy in circles, turning her head and looking eagerly dowm at the water ; 
she sees a trout when at a great height, and, suddenly closing her wings, drops like a shot bird into the 
water, but seldom failing to rise again with a good-sized fish in her talons. The feet of the Osprey are 
extremely rough, and the toes placed in a pectdiar manner, so as to give the best possible chance of holding 
her slippery prey. Sometimes in the midst of her swoop the Osprey suddenly stops herself in the most 
abrupt manner, probably because the fish, having changed its position, is no longer within her range ; she 
then hovers again stationary in the air, anxiously looking below for the I'eappearance of her prey. Having 
w ell examined one pool, she suddenly turns off, and with rapid flight takes herself to an adjoining part of 
the stream, where she again begins to hover and circle in the air. On making a pounce into the w'ater, 
the Osprey dashes the sj)ray up far and w'ide, so as to be seen for a considerable distance.” 
The late Mr. Wolley sent the following note to Mr. Hewitson : — “ I have seen several nests of the Osprey 
upon the highest points of ruins in and about lochs in Scotland, and several more upon small isolated rocks 
j)rojecting out of the w'ater. There is something in the general appearance of the nest which reminds one 
of those of the wood-ants: it is usually in the form of a truncated cone ; the sticks project very slightly 
beyond the sides, and are built up with turf and other materials ; the summit is of moss, very flat and even, 
and the cavity occupies a comparatively small part of it. I know no other nest at all like it. The birds are 
very constant year after year in returning to their old stations ; and, even after one or both birds have been 
killed in the previous season, I have frequently seen individuals flying near the now deserted eyry.” — Col. 
III. of Eggs of Brit. Birds, 3rd edit., vol. i. p. 19. 
St. John describes a nest built in a birch-tree, so near the ground that he could see it without climbing. 
It consisted of a perfect cartload of sticks, varying from the size of a very stout Avalking-stick to the twigs 
of birch and heather of w'hich the inner part of the fabric w'as composed. He did not measure it ; but, as 
near as he could guess, it was not less than eight feet in length and nearly four iu width ; the depth, too, 
was very great ; the inner lining was composed of a coarse kind of grass. 
Mr. Hewitson says, the eggs are laid in the beginning of May, and are sometimes two, but almost always 
three in number. They are more oval in form than those of any other of our British Falconidee, and do not 
differ much. He has represented the eggs Avith a pinky cream-coloured ground, covered w'ith numerous 
large and small patches of chestnut-red and black, the smaller spots appearing as if beneath the surface. 
Lord Lilford informs me that a pair of this species had a nest with young on the Mediterranean side of 
the Rock of Gibraltar, in June 1869; and with a good glass, he could easily make out the young birds in the 
nest, from the battery at the so-called Monkey’s Cave ; he further states that the Osprey is common on 
the shores of the Lake of Genev'a during its vernal migration, and adds : — “ We generally baA^e one of 
this species, for a few days in August or September, haunting the lochs at Gaick, Inverness-shire.” 
Numerous notes on this bird, as seen in various parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, wall be found in ‘ The 
Ibis,’ to which I must refer my readers, as they are too lengthy for transcription here. 
The front figure in the Plate represents a bird, about half the natural size, Avith a Scottish Trout 
{Salmo farh)) in its talons, from a sketch by Mr. Wolf. 
