It occurs in all continents around the world except for Antarctica, but in South America only as a non-breeding migrant. The Osprey bird (Pandion haliaetus) is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. Osprey Facts.

The osprey usually snatches fish close to the water’s surface, but sometimes it plunges underwater to catch prey. Claws.

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. ... Once known as the fish hawk, the osprey lives on fish that it catches by snatching them in a shallow dive from the surface of the water. The osprey closes its nostrils to stop water rushing in when it dives underwater.

Ospreys mate for life. General description: An osprey is a large bird with a length of 22-25 inches, a wingspan of 4.5-6 feet, and a weight of approximately 4 pounds. The long, hooked talons (claws) of an osprey can close tightly around a slippery fish.

Their first nest is small, but they add to it every year. The osprey has a dark brown back and a white belly, as well as a white head, which features a dark stripe running from its yellow eyes to …
The Osprey bird is often known by other colloquial names such as ‘fishhawk’, ‘seahawk’ or ‘Fish Eagle’.

Osprey eggs don't hatch all at once, but are staggered in time so that some siblings are older and more dominant.



These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Diving osprey. Ospreys eat mostly fish, but sometimes they eat lizards, insects, muskrats or even squirrels. Living with Birds 21 Facts on Osprey Tweetapedia. Ospreys migrate from Canada to South America every year, flying 6,000 miles or more.

Fun Facts about Ospreys for Kids.
The osprey or more specifically the western osprey (Pandion haliaetus) — also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk — is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range.It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings.It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.