much less gracefully performed than in the case o f the Kestrel, the wings haring rather a heavy flapping
motion, 's a w ,t make a descent into the bed of the river, which was well and quickly done; but bushes
concealed the surface o f the stream, and, if the bird touched the water, I did not see it j it rose, apparently
witlout a fish It was interrupted by a Heron coming from a great height in the air, screaming round it
with on stretched neck, and every sign of indignation and alarm. The Osprey wheeled up in spiral circles
to ge t above the Heron, and then soared off across the hills towards the valley o f the Don. I t appeared
to examine carefully a hit o f moor over which it passed, but did not hover.”
Mr. St John, in his Tour in Sntherlandshire, says, “ I generally saw the Osprey Bailing about the lower
pools o f th e rivers, near their mouths; and a beautiful sight it is. The long-wiuged bird hovers (as a
Kestrel does over a mouse) a t a considerable distance above the water, sometimes on perfectly motionless
wings, and sometimes wheeling slowly in circles, turning her head and looking eagerly down a t the water •
she secs a trout when a t a great height, and, suddenly closing her wings, drops like a shot bird into the
water, but seldom fading to rise again with a good-sized fish in her talons. The feet o f the Osprey are
extremely rough, and the toes placed ,u a peculiar 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 reappearance of her prey. Having
ell examined one pool, she suddenly turns ofT, and with rapid flight takes herself to an adjoining part o f
he stream, where she again begins to hover and circle in the air. On making a pounce into the water
le Osprey dashes the spray up far and wide, 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 o f the Osprey
upon the highest points o f rums ,n and about lochs in Scotland, and several more upon small isolated rocks ■ BBB ¡n ^ g e n e r a l appearance o f the nest which reminds one
o f those of the woodcuts: ,t ,s usually the form o f a truncated cone; the sticks project very slightly
beyond the sides, and are hmlt up with tu rf and other materials; the summit is o f moss, very flat and t e n
and the canty occupies a comparatively small p art o f it. I know no other nest at all like it. The birds aré
very constant year after year in returning to their old stations; and, even after one or both birds have been
died in the previous season, I have frequently seen individuals flying near the now deserted H H |
III. o f E g g s o f Brit. Birds, 3rd edit., vol. i. p. 19. 3 3
It consisted M H ¡ " " . I 11 | B I “ B I SrOÜ" d tha‘It consisted of a perfect cartload o f sticks, varying from the size o f a very sbteo uC°t “wIda lBkin gi-l sBtick to tBhe tBwigs HM HI WhÍt'h ** ÍD”er fl °f 8 BH c°mP°s<:d- d¡d ■<* « r e i t ; but, I near as he could guess, ,t was not less than eight feet in length and nearly fo u r* , width; the depth too
é ^ r y g reat I the inner lining was composed of a coarse kind o f grass. '
B B B — ■ 1 laif . i n ‘he I B < * « V . a "d « « sometimes two, but almost alwayé
tfiffl much He B are m0r! m ” tha" ° ! m y ° ‘her ° f0 n r British H O and do no.
differ much. He has represented the eggs with a pinky cream-coloured ground, covered with numerous
Bw Bg mBm a w S B m and B the B B B w m m if beneath 8 b h '"forms me that a pair of this species had a nest with young on the Mediterranean side of
the Rock of Gibraltar, June 1869; and with a good glass, he could easilv make out the young birds in the
Monkey,s Cavc; he w B the ¡■ S I e shores of the Lake of Geneva dnrmg its vernal migration, and a d d s :« ,” We generally have one of
tins species, for a few days in August or September, haunting the lochs a t Gaick, Inverness-shire ”
Ü Ü th; s bird' B 1 various parm o f Europe, Africa, and Asia, will be found in -T h e
Ibis to which I must refer my readers, as they are too length, for transcription here.
H H ■ S" re 1 tbe P k ,e rePresents a bird, about half the natural size, with a Scottish Trout
(Salmo fo n d ) in its talons, from a sketch by Mr. Wolf.