Osprey

The osprey is a large hawk. White undersides and a crook in its narrow wings identify this bird as it
soars above the water. Adults are dark brown
above with brownish-black marks on the wings and brown speckling on the breast. The head is white with a dark brown crown and brown streak down
the cheek. The female is typically larger than the male. At 18 months, osprey achieve their full adult plumage. Juvenile
osprey resemble the adults but have buff -tipped feathers on the
back of their upper body, giving them a speckled appearance, and
the streaking on the breast tends to be heavier. As juvenile osprey
mature, their eye color changes from brown to yellow. Osprey feed primarily on live fish, which they catch from the
water by using their long, hooked talons. An osprey can plunge
so forcefully into the water that it
will completely submerge!
When carrying their prey back to the nest, osprey will arrange
the fish so that it is facing upright, head forward. Occasionally,
an osprey will catch and eat a snake, eel, or even a frog.
The female osprey lays one to four, but usually
three, eggs in the spring in a large nest made of
mostly sticks. Osprey constructs their nests a the
tops of dead trees, atop power poles, on manmade nesting platforms, and sometimes on buoys,
chimneys, or other structures. The nests are most
often used year after year and can become up to
10 feet high as more nesting materials are added
each breeding season.
Category:Birds of Prey
Category:Birds
Category:Hawks
Category:Predators
Category:Wildlife
Category:American Animals