The nest is often built in trees near the seashore or lakeside, and two or three white eggs, blotched with crimson, are laid.
Ospreys occur on all continents except Antarctica and have faced extinction in several areas.
In July 1996 seven of the Scottish chicks were transferred to a nature reserve near Leicester as part of a programme to re-establish ospreys in England, where they have been absent since 1843. The 'osprey plumes' of the milliner are in fact egret feathers.