84 
BIRDS OF FREY. 
The length of the male Osprey is from 21 to 22 inches. The fe- 
male is about 2 feet. The summit of the head, and particularly the 
upper part of the neck, is furnished with long and narrow feathers, 
darkish in the middle, and edged with yellowish white ; these feath- 
ers are erectile at the will of the animal. Upper parts dark brown ; 
there is often a white band above the eyes ; a long band of deep 
brown along the sides of the neck ; lower parts white ; upon the 
breast some faint fawn-colored or yellowish traces ; plumage of the 
thighs streaked down the fore-part with pale brown. Cere and feet 
pale greyish blue ; the latter very large, covered with scales, and 
rough beneath like a rasp, (for the purpose of holding its finny prey.) 
Tail crossed with 8 bars of very dark brown, (only six in the Euro- 
pean, according to Temminck.) Iris fiery yellow. Bill black. The 
wings (according to Wilson) extend about an inch beyond the tail 
(more than two inches, Temminck). — When young they have more 
or fewer fawn-colored spots beneath. The feathers of the upper 
parts are terminated with yellowish white margins ; also a consider- 
able space upon the breast of a pale fawn-color spotted with brown ; 
the feet likewise darker. 
Subgenus. — Astur. ( Autours, Temminck.) 
The bill strong ; with the tooth or lobe of the upper mandible well- 
defined. Nostrils roundish, or inclining to oval and oblique. Tarsi 
rather long, shielded with a row of parallel scales. The middle toe 
much longer than the side ones ; the outer connected at the base by 
a membrane, and shorter than the inner. The nails are long, much 
curved, and very acute. — Wings short; the first primary much 
shorter than the 2d ; the 4th longest. The female similar in color 
with the male, but a third larger. 
These are bold, sanguinary, and malignant birds ; skimming the 
earth with a rapid flight, seizing their prey upon the wing, and 
sometimes pouncing upon it from above. They are not inclined to 
soar at great elevations, and only describe wide circles in their 
flight about the commencement of the breeding season. 
