Osprey - Animals Town

Home

Animal Wallpaper

Animal Coloring Pages

Osprey

Type: Bird
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 30 years
Size: Body, 21 to 23 in (54 to 58 cm); Wingspan, 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m)
Weight: 3.1 to 4.4 lbs (1.4 to 2 kg)
Did you know? The osprey is one of the most widespread birds of prey and can be found on every continent, except Antarctica.

What does a Osprey look like?
Ospreys are sometimes confused with bald eagles, but can be identified by their white underparts. Their white heads also have a distinctive black eyestripe that goes down the side of their faces. Eagles and ospreys frequent similar habitats and sometimes battle for food. Eagles often force osprey to drop fish that they have caught and steal them in midair.

Osprey video.

Where do Ospreys live?
Ospreys birds can be found near ponds, rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways around the world. Ospreys hunt by diving to the water's surface from some 30 to 100 feet (9 to 30 meters) up. They have gripping pads on their feet to help them pluck fish from the water with their curved claws and carry them for great distances. In flight, ospreys will orient the fish headfirst to ease wind resistance.

What does a Osprey eat?
Ospreys are superb fishers and indeed eat little else—fish make up some 99 percent of their diet.

Do ospreys migrate?
Most ospreys are migratory birds that breed in the north and migrate south for the winter. They lay eggs (typically three), which both parents help to incubate. Osprey eggs don't hatch all at once, but are staggered in time so that some siblings are older and more dominant. When food is scarce these stronger birds may take it all and leave their siblings to starve.