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 ve. and ce donee but buslies
concealed the surface of the stream, and, if the bird touched the water, I did not cee it OSE, apparently
without a fish. It was interrupted by a Heron coming from a great height in the air, So 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 ee amine carefully a bit 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. i¢Uhe long-winged bird hover (as a
Kestrel does over a mouse) at a considerable distance above the water, sometimes on perfectly motionless
wings, and sometimes wheeling slowly in circles, turning her head and looking eagerly down at the water ;
Bence. 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 ina 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
well 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 water,
the 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 :—* IT 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
projecting out of the water. 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.
Ml. 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 cart-load of sticks, varying from the size of a very stout walking-stick to the twigs
of birch and heather of which the inner part of the fabric was 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 in 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 Falconide, and do not
differ much. He has represented the eggs with a pinky cream-coloured ground, covered with 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 Geneva during its vernal migration, and adds :—‘* We generally have 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, will 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, with a Scottish Trout
(Salmo fario) in its talons, from a sketch by Mr. Wolf.