The nest of the Kestrel is often placed in towers and old buildings, and the bird is sometimes to be seen round the Nelson monument in Trafalgar Square, but a tree is more frequently the site selected, when an old Crow’s or Raven’s nest is often chosen. The hen bird, as is the case with most Hawks, sits very close, and will often require a stick or stone to be thrown close to the nest before it will move off, and the sudden drop which it gives is often the means of saving its life, as the chance of a successful shot is difficult. The eggs are from four to six in number, and are rather handsomely coloured, being blotched with rufous on a white ground, and are not unfrequently entirely rufous.
In most of the Kestrels the sexes differ conspicuously in colour, the females being barred. This is the case in the common species, where the male has a blue head and tail. In the size of the sexes there is little or no difference, each measuring about twelve inches and a half. In winter, when there are fewer mice and beetles about, the Kestrel shifts his quarters, and becomes to a certain extent migratory: at this season of the year it visits India and Africa, not extending, however, so far down the latter continent as some of the European birds go. It is abundant at certain seasons in north-eastern Africa and Senegambia, but seldom goes as far as the Cape. The most easterly occurrence that is known of the Common Kestrel is the island of Borneo, though it is a common bird in China. It should be mentioned, however, that the Kestrel is always darker in colour from Japan and China, so much so that many naturalists consider it to be a distinct species from the British bird.
OSPREY.
THE SECOND SUB-ORDER.—PANDIONES.
CHAPTER VI.
THE OSPREYS AND OWLS.
THE OSPREY—Distribution—Food—How it Seizes its Prey—Nesting Communities—STRIGES, or OWLS—Distinctions between Hawks and Owls—Owls in Bird-lore and Superstition—Families of the Sub-order—[THE FISH OWL]—[PEL’S FISH OWL]—[THE EAGLE OWL]—Dr. Brehm’s Description of its Appearance and Habits—[THE SNOWY OWL]—[HAWK OWLS]—[PIGMY OWLETS]—[THE SHORT-EARED OWL]—[THE LONG-EARED OWL]—[THE BARN OWL]—The Farmer’s Friend—Peculiar Characters—Distribution.
THE OSPREY, OR FISHING EAGLE (Pandion haliaëtus).
THE Osprey is one of the most cosmopolitan of the birds of prey, being found all over the world, with the exception of the continent of South America and some of the Pacific Islands. Specimens from Australia and the Moluccas are generally smaller than those from Europe or America; but as the size of the species appears to vary in different localities, the Australian form cannot be considered other than a permanently smaller race. Everywhere the habits of the Osprey seem to be very similar, the bird never being found away from the vicinity of water, unless it be sometimes during the breeding season, when it makes its nest at some distance from its feeding haunts. Its food consists entirely of fish, and it is capable of carrying off one of considerable size; in the capture of its prey it is greatly aided by its reversible toes, and by the roughness of the sole of the foot, which is covered with minute spikes, and these are, of course, of great assistance to the bird in holding such a strong and slippery prey as a large fish often proves to be. Professor Newton writes of one living in the Zoological Gardens, that “when a fish was given to it, it was observed to seize it across the body, placing the inner and outer toes at right angles with the middle and hind toes, and, digging in the claws, it held the fish most firmly by four opposite points, not relaxing its hold or altering the position of the toes, but picking out the portions of flesh from between them with great dexterity.” Occasionally, the Osprey attacks a fish beyond its strength, and it is then drawn under the water, and drowned. Mr. Dresser saw this happen in the Bay of Fundy, when a Fish Hawk was unable to release itself from a heavy fish, and, after being dragged under the water time after time, was ultimately carried out to sea, and disappeared. Mr. Collett, of Christiania, tells us that in one of the Norwegian lakes a huge Pike was caught, with the remains of an Osprey’s skeleton still attached to its back. Sometimes, on landing its prey, the bird is unable to extricate its talons, and is captured alive. The nest of the Osprey is a large structure, and is variously situated, according to the nature of the locality. It is generally placed on a tree; but in situations where there are no trees the position chosen is on a large rock or stone, very often on the islands in the middle of the lakes which it frequents. The eggs are generally three in number, sometimes four, and are very beautiful, varying from a rich red to a buffy-white colour, with large reddish and brown markings. In Europe it is found nesting invariably in pairs, but in North America large communities are found; and Dr. Brewer relates that sometimes as many as “three hundred pairs have been observed nesting on one small island; and when a new nest is to be constructed, the whole community has been known to take part in its completion. They are remarkably tolerant towards smaller birds, and permit the Purple Grakle (Quiscalus purpureus) to construct its nests in the interstices of their own.”