THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
but on three occasions I have found four in a nest. The old birds fly around 
in an anxious way when one is examining a nest, uttering a plaintive whistle, 
but never offer to attack. Another curious site for an Osprey’s nest was on 
the platform of a windmill at Point Cloates that was erected at a well close 
to the beach. A very curious incident occurred to me at this well years ago, 
before the windmill was put up. I was riding up to the well in the dark, 
through low scrub, and a man in my employment was following on a horse 
a little behind me. Just as I was passing a stunted tree, about 12 feet in 
height, I heard a rustling noise and my horse started, and then putting down 
his head, began to ‘ pig jump ’ in a determined way, which somewhat dis- 
concerted me, as he was a very quiet old stock-horse that I had never known 
to buck, and I was riding easy. At the same time I was conscious of there 
being ‘ some ’ thing close behind me, and occasionally touching my back. 
My first thought was that some wild blacks, whom I knew were about there, 
were attacking me, but my attention was given to ‘ sticking on ’ my horse. 
After about half a minute of wild plunging on his part, a large object fell to 
the white sandy ground from behind me, and with more rustling and flopping 
it vanished in the gloom, and my horse at once stood quiet but trembling. 
The man behind me had cantered up, hearing the plunging and noises, and 
excitedly called out : ‘ Where are they ? Why did not you shout to me ? 
Which way did they go ? ’ as he also thought I was attacked by natives. 
I answered : ‘ There was something came at me from that bush, but what it 
was I don’t know, but it was not blacks.’ I then struck a match or two and 
examined the ground and the small tree, and upon a horizontal branch of it 
saw quantities of bird ordure, so I concluded that either an Osprey or White- 
bellied Sea-Eagle had been in the habit of roosting there (as it was a quite 
unfrequented place in those days), but on this particular night it had been 
disturbed by my passing on the horse, and had blundered off its perch on to 
my horse’s rump, perhaps mistaking it for a rock. Its sharp talons caused 
my horse to buck, when of course the bird would stick its talons tighter on 
to the horse, and hurt it more. We went on to the well and camped and 
next morning I saw that my horse’s rump was rather badly scratched and 
scored, and when we went back to where the little incident had occurred the 
previous night, distinctly saw the marks on the loose sandy ground where a 
large bird had fallen and the marks where its outspread wings had struck 
the ground. The small tree was evidently a regular roosting place. It is 
a most interesting sight to see these fine birds fishing, at times almost dis- 
appearing beneath the surface of the sea. I have seen one rise from the water 
with a fish in each foot. There was no mistake in this, as I was well hidden 
in thick mangroves, and the Osprey dropped in the water within a few yards 
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