104 
FISH HAWK, OR OSPREY. 
and industry ; and seeming no farther dependant on the land 
than as a mere resting-place, or, in the usual season, a spot of 
deposit for his nest, eggs, and young. The figure here given 
plunder of others, but labours for itself in the most dexterous manner ; and for 
this, the beautiful adaptation of its form renders every assistance. The body 
is very strongly built, but is rather of a narrow and elongated shape ; the head 
is less than the ordinary proportional dimensions ; and the wings are expansive, 
powerful, and sharp-pointed. The manner of seizing their prey is by soaring 
above the surface of the sea, or lake, and, when in sight of a fish, closing the 
wings, and darting, as it were, by the weight of the body, which, in the descent, 
may be perceived to be directed by the motion of the tail. For this purpose, 
those parts which we have mentioned are finely framed, and for the remainder 
of the operation, the legs and feet are no less beautifully modelled. The 
thighs, instead of being clothed with finely lengthened plumes, as in most of 
the other Falcons, and which, when wet, would prove a great encumbrance, 
are covered with a thick downy plumage ; the tarsi are short and very strong ; 
the toes have the same advantages ; and underneath, at the junction of each 
joint, have a large protuberance, covered, as are the other parts of the sole, 
with a thick and strong array of hard jagged scales, which are sufficient, by the 
roughness, to prevent any escape of their slippery prey when it is once fairly 
clutched ; the claws are also very strong, and hooked, and are round as a 
cylinder, both above and beneath, which will ensure an easy, piercing, or quick 
retraction from any body at which they may be struck. The outer toe is also 
capable of being turned either way, — a most essential assistance in grasping. 
In striking their prey they do not appear to dive deep ; indeed, their feet, by 
which alone it is taken, could not then be brought into action, but they are 
often concealed in the spray occasioned by their rapid descent. 
The size of a fish they are able to bear away is very great, and sometimes 
exceeds their own weight. That of the female is little more than five pounds, 
and Mr Audubon has figured his specimen with a weak fish more than that 
weight ; while our author mentions a shad that, when partly eaten, weighed more 
than six pounds. These authenticated accounts lead us almost to credit the 
more marvellous stories of that amusing sporting writer, Mr Loyd. 
That gentleman relates, that in Sweden the Eagle sometimes strikes so 
large a pike, that not being able to disengage his talons, he is carried under 
water and drowned. Dr Mullenborg vouched for this, by the fact of having 
himself seen an enormous pike, with an eagle fastened to his back, lying dead 
on a piece of ground which had been overflowed, but from whence the water 
had retreated. 
He mentions also an accouht of a struggle between an Eagle and a pike, 
witnessed by a gentleman, on the Gotha river, at no great distance from 
Wenersborg. In this instance, when the Eagle first seized the pike, he was 
enabled to lift him a short distance into the air, but the weight of the fish, 
