OSPREY

also called fish hawk (Pandion haliaetus), large, long-winged hawk, about 65 centimetres (26 inches) long, that lives along seacoasts and larger interior waterways, where it catches fish. The osprey belongs to the family Pandionidae (sometimes considered a subfamily, Pandioninae, of the family Accipitridae). It is brown above and white below, with some white on the head. An osprey flies over the water, hovers above its prey, and then plunges feet first to seize a fish in its long, curved talons. With grip secured by sharp spicules on the underside of the toes, the bird carries its prey to a favourite perch to feed. Sometimes, after feeding, an osprey flies low over the water, dragging its feet as if to wash them. Throughout its wide breeding range, which extends to all the continents except South America, where it occurs only in winter, the osprey nests singly or in colonies in tall trees, at ground level on small islands, or on ledges of cliffs. The North American population of this species declined greatly after 1900, especially in the mid-centuryapparently because of the effects of DDT residuesbut began to recover by the 1980s. Exterminated from the British Isles by 1910, the osprey reappeared there as a successfully breeding species in 1959. The nest is a bulky structure, up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) across, composed of haphazardly arranged sticks. Two to four boldly marked eggs are laid; downy young hatch in about five weeks and are fed by both parents. The young birds fledge in six to eight weeks.