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Show BIRDS IN COMPACT eaqle and fish hawk have an understanding Monarch of tha Air Watchee Nwrt of Business1 Partner Whlla the Latter Lat-ter Catcher Food for Bath Their Need. Everybody who summers on tha Jca soy const litis uccn tha fish hawk at work, though of late years tha number of such birds seem to' ba decreasing. Tha negroes downjln Charles county, coun-ty, Maryland, In that faraway region of Rock Point on the lower Potomac where the rhcr broaden oat llho a sea and where tho fUh hawk Is common, com-mon, have a story about it and tho euglo which .Is Intereatlng. Whlla tho fish hawk, or nsprey, dives Into tho water for Its food, which consists of fish nnd eels, the cnglo Is a "laud-lubber" nnd would starve If hu hnd to undertake un-dertake to muke a livelihood by braving brav-ing tho watery depths. Tho story, thnt has Its plnco In tho folklore of the "lUnck llelt" of Mary-land, Mary-land, Is thnt one day the eagle was very hungry nnd mooting tho fish hnwk as ho was ilylng'home with a Una fish Jn his clnws, said : "Mr. Fish Iluwk, yon and I might ns well be friends nnd Join together and work for our mutunt advantage." "I nm willing." snld thu fish hawk, soaring along with tho caglo by his side, but keeping u tighter grip on thu flsli. "As you ngreo with me, I'll tell you whnt wo can do," snld tho ongle. "If you will catch all the fish you can nud pivo mo half what you get I'll keep watch In the old pine troo next to your nest nnd protect your wllo and children chil-dren from tho sparrow hawks and your Other enemies while you ure at work fishing." "All right," said tho flsh hawk. "I will do It." From thnt dny on, tho story goes, tho flsh hnwk has fed the eagle. Ho does this In an odd nnd Interesting manner. Ills eyes are very keen and bo can see to a considerable depth In tho water, and ns he skims along over tho surfneu of tho deep hu picks out tho fat flsh ho wants. Quick as lightning light-ning ho plunges down, extends his claws nnd In the next Instant rises with the wrlggllnpprcy in his talons. After tuklng a Armor hold on his victim he ascends by u spiral flight Into the heavens. Tho oaglu has boon watching watch-ing from n tall tree or crag and, ns the flsh hnwk rises the ongle also dnrts Into thu sky ubovo him. This Is notice for nil tho flsh hawk's enemies among the feathered tribe to retreat. Just as the flsh hawk gets to n point nn n plane thnt Is level with that of the englo hu relaxes his grip on the flsh and it begins to fall. It Is then tho eagle's time for quick action. Like a Miot from n rapid-lire gun ho dives anil In n second or two has tho flih In his claws. This ncrlnl "throw nnd cntch" game between tho two great birds goes on continually over the broad wnters of thu Potomac, much to thu edlllcatlon of tht onlookers. Of course, there must be times when tho eagle full to catch ilio flh as he swoops down through the air nfter It, but It cannot bo .oved by anyone who has witnessed wit-nessed this particular nerinl feat on tho pnrt of tho "bird of freedom." Nobody No-body seems to have ever seen the eagle miss, and nobody seems to havu over known the flsh hawk full to catch n flsh when ho dived for It. As tho flsh hawk rises In the air oftentimes, cspecjnlly on n sunny dny, tho sheen of thu fish c.'.n bo seen like u piece of silver In his claws, and sometimes some-times tho "silver" can be been wriggling, wrig-gling, Impressing otio strangely as their eyes witness this tragedy In the nlr lr which the victim cnu havo no hope c! rescue. |