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Pandion haliaetus

(American Osprey)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Visvalk

Common Names in Albanian:

Shqiponja Peshkngrënëse

Common Names in Armenian:

[jrartsiv ]

Common Names in Asturian:

Aigla Pexera

Common Names in Azerbaijani:

Çay Qaraqusu

Common Names in Basque:

Àguila Pescadora

Common Names in Breton:

An Erer Splujer

Common Names in Catalan:

Àguila Peixatera

Common Names in Catalan (Balears):

Àguila Peixatera

Common Names in Chinese:

[e]

Common Names in Cornish:

Morer

Common Names in Creoles and Pidgins,:

Malfini

Common Names in Croatian:

Bukoc

Common Names in Czech:

Orlovec Rícní, Orlovec øíèní

Common Names in Danish:

Fiskeørn

Common Names in Dutch:

Visarend

Common Names in English:

American Osprey, Fish Eagle, Fish Hawk, Osprey, Seahawk

Common Names in Esperanto:

Fi^saglo

Common Names in Estonian:

Kalakotkas

Common Names in Faroese:

Fiskiørn

Common Names in Finnish:

Kalasääski, Sääksi

Common Names in French:

Aigle Botté, Balbuzard Pêcheur

Common Names in Frisian:

Fiskearn

Common Names in Friulian:

Falcuz Pescjadôr

Common Names in Gaelic:

Càirneach

Common Names in Galician:

Aguia Pescadora

Common Names in German:

Fischadler

Common Names in Guadeloupean Creole :

Aiglon

Common Names in Guarani:

Taguato Rye Morotî

Common Names in Haitian Creole Frenc:

Malfini Lanmè

Common Names in Hungarian:

Halászsas

Common Names in Icelandic:

Gjóður

Common Names in Indonesian:

Elang Ikan

Common Names in Irish:

Coirneach

Common Names in Italian:

Falco Pescatore

Common Names in Japanese:

Misago

Common Names in Latin:

Pandion haliaetus

Common Names in Latvian:

Kirans

Common Names in Lithuanian:

Erelis žuvininkas

Common Names in Malay:

Helang Hitam

Common Names in Maltese:

Arpa

Common Names in Manx:

Shawk Eeastee

Common Names in Moldavian:

Acvila Pitica

Common Names in Northern Sami:

Ciekcá

Common Names in Norwegian:

Fikejo

Common Names in Polish:

Rybolów

Common Names in Portuguese:

águia Pesqueira, Águia-Pesqueira

Common Names in Portuguese (Brazil):

Águia-Pescadora

Common Names in Romansh:

Evla Da Peschs

Common Names in Russian:

Skopa

Common Names in Scots:

Iolaire Lasgaich

Common Names in Serbian:

Orao Ribar

Common Names in Slovak:

Kršiak Rybár

Common Names in Slovenian:

Ribji Orel

Common Names in Spanish:

Águila Calzada, Águila Pescadora, Gavilán Pescador

Common Names in Spanish (Argentine):

Aguila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Costa Rica):

Aguila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Cuba):

Guincho

Common Names in Spanish (Dominican R:

Guincho

Common Names in Spanish (Honduras):

Aguila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Mexico):

águila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Nicaragua):

Aguila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Paraguay):

Águila Pescadora

Common Names in Spanish (Uruguay):

Águila Pescadora

Common Names in Swahili:

Kipungu

Common Names in Swedish:

Fiskgjuse

Common Names in Turkish:

Balik Kartali

Common Names in Valencian:

Àguila Pescadora

Common Names in Vietnamese:

Chim ó Cá

Common Names in Welsh:

Eryr Y Dwr

Description

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Physical Description

Adult : Head : white with some dark brown Face : Cere: grayish Cheeks: white with broad black horizontal bar Eye Color: yellowish Body: Belly: white Underparts: mostly white Upperparts: dark brown with purplish gloss Legs : Leg Color: grayish Tail: narrow black bars Length : long.Adult Female: Head: white with some dark brown Face: Cere: grayish Cheeks: white with broad black horizontal bar Eye Color: yellowish Body: Belly: white Chest: usually lightly streaked with dark brown Underparts: mostly white Upperparts: dark brown with purplish gloss Legs: Leg Color: grayish Tail: narrow black bars Length: long.Adult Male: Head: white with some dark brown Face: Cere: grayish Cheeks: white with broad black horizontal bar Eye Color: yellowish Body: Belly: white Chest: immaculate white Underparts: mostly white Upperparts: dark brown with purplish gloss Legs: Leg Color: grayish Tail: narrow black bars Length: long.Basic: Head: mostly white Face: Lores : dark stripe to nape Neck: Nape: dark strip to lores Body: Underparts: mostly white Upperparts: dark brown.Immature: Head: white with some dark brown Face: Cere: grayish Cheeks: white with broad black horizontal bar Eye Color: yellowish Body: Belly: white Mantle: buffy scaling Underparts: mostly white tinged with buffy Upperparts: dark brown with purplish gloss Legs: Leg Color: grayish Tail: narrow black bars Length: long.

Color:

Adult male: Underparts entirely white

Adult female: Dark necklace of streaks on throat

Immature : White tips to dark back feathers

Size/Age/Growth

About 21 to 24 inches long, with a wingspan of 54 to 72 inches. Adults weigh about 49.6 ounces . Females are slightly larger than the males.

Habitat

Since they live entirely on fish, ospreys naturally prefer to dwell in the vicinity of lakes , seacoasts, or rivers where they can find an abundance of prey .[1]

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, coastal waters, freshwater lakes and ponds, rivers • Foraging Strata: Water • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Medium

Ecology: List of Habitats : 1.1 Forest - Boreal 1.4 Forest - Temperate 5.1 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls ) 5.5 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) 9.1 Marine Neritic - Pelagic

Biology

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Diet

Wheeling high above the clear, shallow water, a quick bird hovers , folds its wings and plunges feetfirst downward. Within seconds the bird emerges, shaking excess water from its plumage, and rotates a captured fish head forward for the least wind resistance. The successful predator then circles above its feeding ground several times, slowly gains altitude , and disappears over the horizon.[1]

Reproduction

Ospreys generally construct their nests in the tops of dead trees along shores . They utilize short stumps or particular submerged snags for their nests, usually at the mouth of a river or in its backwaters . An osprey nest, three to five feet in diameter, is an ingenious accumulation of sticks , grasses, mosses, and lichens. The birds gather construction materials from the ground or snatch sticks during flight from existing dead trees. Throughout the breeding season , adult ospreys may continually add large sticks to their nests. After the young have fledged, they use nests as perches . As a result of the fledging activity, nests may become damaged and reduced in size; by autumn many nests are partially broken down , and much of the nesting material has fallen to the ground. North American ospreys usually return to their northern breeding areas in late March and early April. The entire breeding population arrives within one to two weeks, excluding the previous season's nestlings, which remain three years at the wintering grounds. Although ospreys mate for life, they renew their bond with courtship displays each spring . This consists largely of aerial gymnastics by both sexes, swift-pursuit aerial races, soaring, swooping, and hovering in wide circles. The male usually carries a fish in his talons, and presents it to the female. Breeding females lay two or three eggs (more rarely four) in late April or early May. Although some males assist their mates, it's usually the female that handles the 33-day incubation . The young usually hatch the first week of June and fledge sometime during the second week of August. Throughout incubation and early stages of the brooding period, chicks are cared for my mothers; the male provides fish for his mate and developing young. If he's hungry, he eats the head and viscera of the fish before dropping it into the nest. After six weeks, nestlings are strong enough to stand up and feed themselves, so both parents provide food, depositing it at the nest and flying away. While the male is fishing , the female perches at the edge of the nest or spends time rearranging nesting material. She utters shrill chirps when her mate approaches the nest with a fish. The young raise their heads to watch him as he circles and drops the fish into the nest. The male then retires to a perch where he rests and preens his feathers .[1]

Common breeder in tidewater habitats along the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore, nesting from late March to late July.

Breeding Habitat: Wetland-open water Clutch Size: 3-4 Length of Incubation: 32-43 days Days to Fledge: 48-59 Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

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Bald Eagle

Members of the genus Pandion

There are approximately 12 species in this genus:

P. cristatus (Australian Osprey) · P. cristatus cristatus · P. haliaeetus · P. haliaetus (American Osprey) · P. haliaetus carolinensis (American Osprey) · P. haliaetus cristatus · P. haliaetus haliaetus (Osprey) · P. haliaetus leucocephalus · P. haliaetus melvillensis · P. haliaetus microhaliaetus · P. haliaetus ridgwayi (Caribbean Osprey) · P. leucocephalus

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 27, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. New Mexico Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Version of April 24, 2009. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-06-19