a "dead wood," and therefore without
leaves to conceal it. Some say that the birds select a dead or decaying
tree for their nest. It is more probable such is the effect and not the
cause, of their building upon a particular tree. It is more likely that
the tree is killed partly by the mass of rubbish thus piled upon it, and
partly by the nature of the substances, such as sea-weed in the nest,
the oil of the fish, the excrement of the birds themselves, and the dead
fish that have been dropped about the root, and suffered to remain
there; for when the osprey lets fall his finny prey, which he often
does, he never condescends to pick it up again, but goes in search of
another.

Boys "a-nesting" might easily discover the nest of the osprey; but were
they inclined to despoil it of its three or four eggs (which are about
the size of a duck's, and blotched with Spanish brown), they would find
that a less easy task, for the owners would be very likely to claw their
eyes out, or else scratch the tender skin from their beardless cheeks:
so that boys do not often trouble the nest of the osprey.

A very curious anecdote is related of a negro having climbed up to
plunder a nest of these birds. The negro's head was covered with a close
nap of his own black wool, which is supposed by a certain stretch of
fancy to have the peculiarity of "growing in at both ends." The negro,
having no other protection than that which his thick fur afforded him,
was assailed by both the owners of the nest, one of which, making a dash
at the "darkie's" head, struck his talons so firmly into the wool, that
he was unable to extricate them, and there stuck fast, until the
astonished plunderer had reached the foot of the tree. We shall not
answer for the truthfulness of this anecdote, although there is nothing
improbable about it; for certain it is that these birds defend their
nests with courage and fury, and we know of more than one instance of
persons being severely wounded who made the attempt to rob them.

The ospreys, as already stated, feed exclusively on fish. They are not
known to prey upon birds or quadrupeds of any kind, even when deprived
of their customary food, as they sometimes are for days on account of
the lakes and rivers, in which they expected to find it being frozen
over to a later season than usual. Other birds, as the purple grakles,
often build among the sticks of the osprey's nest, and rear their young
without being meddled with by