Seen from below, the body and inner parts of the wings are white, there are dark patches at the wrists, and the trailing edge and outer portion of the wings show dark bars. It may follow a circuit over a lagoon or river. Ospreys are strong fliers capable of crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. They don't build up large fat stores to help sustain them on migration, instead hunting as they go. North American birds winter in Florida, the Caribbean, on the Gulf Coast, and even to South America.
European birds go to African coasts, lakes and rivers, mostly south of the Sahara.
Some birds in Florida, the Caribbean, Australia, and around the Mediterranean do not migrate. The bulky nest is constructed of rough sticks. The female usually lays three eggs, which must be incubated for five weeks. The female sits on the eggs most of the time, with the male doing egg duty occasionally while the female is fishing. The same phenomena were seen in Ospreys around the Great Lakes basin.