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Australian Wildlife

  Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)





Osprey | Pandion haliaetus photo
Osprey, Coral Bay, Western Australia

Image by Psylexic - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Osprey | Pandion haliaetus photo
Osprey on deck rail at South Stradbroke Island.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.







OSPREY FACTS

Description
The Osprey has a brown back with white head and belly. The only Australian bird of prey with dark line through the eye. the young have streaking across the chest.

Other Names
Fish Hawk, White-headed Osprey

Size
60cm long, with 1.5 wing span

Habitat
Coastal waters, estuaries and islands.

Food
Catches fish by plunging into water and grabbing with talons.

Breeding
Builds large nest of sticks high in tree. Lays 2-3 creamy white eggs with red-brown blotches. May build nest on ground on islands without trees.

Range
Found in costal Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Rarer round New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

distribution map showing range of Pandion haliaetus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Falconiformes
Family:Accipitridae
Genus:Pandion
Species:haliaetus
Common Name:Osprey