Osprey
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.
● 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.