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Bird name:

Osprey

Pandion haliaetusOrder: FALCONIFORMES Family: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Codes: Common Name: OSPR Scientific Name: PANHAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175590

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Osprey: Large raptor, dark brown upperparts contrast with white underparts, faint breast band. Small, white head has dark crown, eyestripe. Dark bill. Wings held at a distinct angle in flight, with underwing showing barred flight feathers and diagnostic dark patches on forewing. Gray legs and feet.

Range and Habitat

Osprey: Worldwide distribution except Antarctica; found near large bodies of water.

Topo Map: Hawk-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chewk-chewk-chewk"

Interesting Facts

The Osprey, Pandion haliaetus–whose species name is derived from the Greek ‘hals’ (salt or sea) and ‘aetos,’ or eagle–is the only bird of prey that feeds exclusively on live fish.

Live fish account for about 99% of their diet. Barbed pads on the soles of its feet help it grip slippery fish. When an Osprey takes a large fish to its nest, it carries the fish headfirst to make it as aerodynamic as possible.

Their outer toe is reversible so that it can grasp with three toes forward and one toe backward or with two forward and two backward, which provides a more stable grip in flight.

Their eggs do not hatch all at once, but instead the first chick hatches out up to five days before the last one.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Osprey

● Song: "chewk-chewk-chewk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Osprey: Feeds exclusively on fish, usually twice daily, in mid-morning and late afternoon. Forages by flying over water, hovering once prey is spotted, then diving into the water feet-first to grasp prey; sometimes lays on the water and rests, but eventually takes off to find a perch to eat its meal.

● Breeding & nesting: Osprey: Three pink or white eggs, marked with olive and brown, are laid in a bulky nest made of sticks built in a large tree; sometimes nests in loose colonies. Incubation ranges from 35 to 40 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Osprey: Bald Eagle is larger with an entirely white head and tail, and dark underparts and underwings.

Flight Pattern

Sometimes soars on thermals., Deep, slow wing beats alternate with glides.

● Range & Habitat: Osprey: Worldwide distribution except Antarctica; found near large bodies of water.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon in coastal range, uncommon inland.

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight49.6 Ounces

Hawk-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Flight feathers

Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Osprey

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Hawk-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Related Birds

Osprey

Flight Pattern