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Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

Description:

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk, fish eagle or fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. 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, with a black eye patch and wings. The Osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant. As its other common name suggests, the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognized, one of which has recently been given full species status (see below). Despite its propensity to nest near water, the Osprey is not classed as a sea-eagle. [Wikipedia]

Notes:

It looks like the Osprey is carrying a member of the pickerel family.

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3 Comments

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Thanks Christy and Kerry.

KerryHawkins
KerryHawkins 11 years ago

Great shot, shows the wing patterns beautifully

ChristyHolland
ChristyHolland 11 years ago

Great capture Tom!!

Tom15
Spotted by
Tom15

Sandwich, Massachusetts, USA

Spotted on Mar 24, 2013
Submitted on Mar 25, 2013

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