From McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader
1. The fish
hawk, or osprey, is not as large as the eagle; but they have, like the eagle, a hooked bill and
sharp claws.
2. Their color is a dark brown, with black and white spots, and their
length is from twenty to twenty-two inches. The fish
hawk’s breast is mostly white. Their tail and wings are long.
3. The fish
hawk is often found sitting upon a tree over a pond, or lake, or river. They are also found by the seaside.
4. The fish
hawk watches the fish as they swim in the water beneath them; then they
dart down
suddenly and catch one of them.
5. When they catch a fish in their
sharp, rough claws, the fish
hawk carries it off to eat, and, as they fly away with it for its dinner, an eagle sometimes meets the fish
hawk.
6. The eagle flies at the fish
hawk fiercely with his
sharp bill and claws, and compels the
hawk to
drop the fish.
7. Then the eagle catches the fish as it falls, before it reaches the ground, and carries it off.
8. The poor fish
hawk, with a loud cry, timidly flies away. They must go again to the water and catch another fish for its dinner.
9. As you can see the eagle is a robber. He robs fish hawks, whose only
mode of getting a living is by catching fish.