The Osprey and Other Hawks
Not quite as big as the eagles, the fish-hawk, or osprey, is nevertheless a large bird, for it measures nearly two feet in length and between five and six feet in spread of wing. It is found in nearly all parts of the world where civilization is not too destructive of its privileges, and is numerous on all our great lakes and rivers as well as by the coast.
The osprey feeds almost entirely upon fish, and may be seen sweeping to and fro over the water, keenly watching for its victims as they rise to the surface. When it catches sight of a fish it swoops down upon it, plunges into the water with a great splashing, and nearly always rises again a moment or two later with the fish struggling in its talons. But it does not always succeed in reaching the shore with it, for the white-headed eagle is also very fond of fish, though it does not like the trouble of catching them. So it lies in wait for the fish-hawk as it returns from a fishing expedition, and beats it about the head with its great wings until it is glad to drop its victim in order to escape, when the eagle swoops down and catches the morsel before it reaches the ground.
These great birds may still be seen all along our coasts and beside our lakes, where they live usually unmolested, although most other hawks are likely to be shot at by every wandering man and boy with a gun. This safety is due not only to the belief that they do no particular harm, but to a feeling, especially along the eastern sea-coast, that it is a lucky thing to have a pair build their nest near the home of a fisherman, to whom they are thought to bring good fortune. This nest is a big structure of sticks which is placed among the branches of a tree near the water—preferably a tall tree, but sometimes, when these are not handy, in a low one. Thus at the eastern end of Long Island, New York, where the ospreys have been protected for many years, their nests often rest on a small cedar or other tree close to the ground; and in some places on the coast of New England men have erected little platforms on the top of poles where the ospreys have made their homes. All these nests are repaired and occupied year after year, and thus sometimes grow to be of immense size.
Familiar Falcons and Hawks
If one were to try to describe even half of the great number of different kinds of falcons and hawks in the world, or even in America, this book would not be large enough for the purpose. Among those most often seen in this country are two large, softly plumaged, brown hawks, with square, barred tails, of the group called buzzards. One is the red-tailed, another the red-shouldered, and a third the broad-winged, the several names denoting the specially noticeable features in each case. All make their homes in the woods, constructing big nests in trees, and early in the spring laying brown-blotched eggs. These hawks fly heavily over the fields in search of frogs, small snakes, field-mice (of which they catch great numbers), and once in a while seize a young bird which cannot yet fly very well; but mostly they live on mice and insects. The country people call all of them hen-hawks, and are likely to shoot them when they can; but in truth they harm the poultry-yard very little.
The really dangerous "hen-hawks" are two or three much smaller and more active falcons, such as the Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks. They are swift and fierce, and will dart down and snatch a bird from its perch or pick up a small chicken with amazing suddenness and speed. These hawks are sometimes called kestrels, after a well-known European falcon which they resemble.
Kestrels and other Chicken-Hawks
You may often see one or the other of these hovering high in the air, as do the English kestrels, about three or four hundred feet from the ground, and carefully watching for the mice upon which after all they mainly feed. It has eyes like telescopes, so that as soon as a mouse pokes its head out of its burrow it catches sight of it, swoops down upon it, seizes it in its talons, and carries it off to be devoured. The number of mice which it catches in this way is very large, and it has been estimated that at least ten thousand of these destructive little creatures are killed by every kestrel in the course of every year. So we must look upon the bird as one of the best friends of the farmer, in spite of the occasional loss of a chicken.
When it cannot find any mice the kestrel will sometimes eat small birds, and now and then it will feed upon cockchafers and other large insects, catching them in its claws as they fly, and then passing them up to its beak.