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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Alternate name(s): "White-headed Osprey", "Fish hawk", "Fish eagle", "Sea hawk", "River hawk" German name(s): "Fischadler" Size: 52-60 cm; wing span: 1.45-1.7 m Body mass: 1.1-2.0 kg Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.5-0.6

Europe: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Lammergeier Eurasian Black Vulture Griffon Vulture Rueppell's Vulture Egyptian Vulture Osprey White-tailed Eagle Golden Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Short-toed Snake Eagle Bonelli's Eagle Booted Eagle Greater Spotted Eagle Red Kite Black Kite European Honey Buzzard Common Buzzard Rough-legged Buzzard Long-legged Buzzard Western Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Montagu's Harrier Pallid Harrier Black-winged Kite Eurasian Goshawk Eurasian Sparrowhawk Gyrfalcon Lanner Falcon Peregrine Falcon Common Kestrel Lesser Kestrel Red-footed Falcon Merlin Eurasian Hobby Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Ospreys are medium-sized birds of prey. Their overall appearance is greyish-brown, with a light grey front (throat, belly, vent) and brownish dark-grey back (mantle, wings, uppertail). The face has prominent grey eye stripes around eyes with yellow irises. The underwing pattern is scalloped light-grey (leading edge) to mid-grey (flight feathers) to dark grey (alulas and tips of primaries). The bill is dark-grey; the legs and feet are grey, with dark-grey talons. The sexes are hard to distinguish, but in breeding pairs the difference is noticeable - female Ospreys have a more pronounced breast band than males. Juvenile and immature Ospreys have a heavier chest band than adults. They also have black streaking ontop of the head and white tips on the wing coverts. Also, their eyes are orange, compared to the adults' yellow irises.

Taxonomy, classification See Osprey at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Note that former race "cristatus" has now been given full species status, as the Eastern Osprey (Pandion cristatus).

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Osprey is available HERE . Ospreys are a global species that are found on all continents (except Australia, where they are replaced by the very closely related Eastern Osprey, Pandion cristatus, and Antarctica). There are two, possibly three, recognized races. Nominate race "haliaetus" breeds in eastern Scandinavia, from the Baltic states all through mid-latitude Eurasia to the base of the Korean peninsula, Japan and Kamchatka. There are also a few scattered locations in Europe where Ospreys can be found. They winter in South-east Asia, from South China to the Philippines, Thailand and Burma to Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia. Farther West, the winter grounds are on the entire Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, and via Pakistan all the way around the Gulf of Arabia to the North coast of Oman. Additional winter grounds are located all around the Red Sea and throughout Africa South of the Sahara desert. Race "carolinensis" breeds in northern North America, from New Fundland via the Great Lakes to southern Alaska. They winter along the American West and East coast, parts of central America and all of northern South America outside the Andes, to a geographic latitude of ca. -30 degrees. Some sources list the sedentary Ospreys of the Caribbean islands as separate race "ridgwayi". Apart from a few isolated locations in western Europe (France, England, Scotland), Ospreys, race "haliaetus", are primarily found as breeding migrants to eastern Europe. Their breeding range is mostly inland, extending from the lakes of northern Germany, Poland and of the Baltic states and most of Scandinavia (except the near-coastal fringe on the western [Atlantic] side), into eastern Europe eastward of a line connecting Gdansk with the North coast of the Caspian Sea, up to about the Arctic circle. There is also a breeding population in the Danube delta. Some spend the winters in scattered locations along the western Mediterranean coastline, including some of the Mediterranean islands, others migrate to the North coast of Africa or further, to sub-Saharan Africa. Ospreys have a strong preference for aquatic habitats, in which they prey on fish.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "haliaetus" J. Pires reports spotting Ospreys, race "haliaetus", occasionally in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, Portugal. A. Sarok found an Osprey, race "haliaetus", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. We have previously found Ospreys, race "haliaetus", in Oman.

Photos

Race "haliaetus"

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Note the almost clean-white front of the male Osprey, on the left, compared to the female's chest band; the darkness or presence of the chest band in both sexes is variable.

MALE

On average, male Ospreys have less prominent chest bands than females; the near-complete absence of such a band on the bird in this near-frontal view suggests that it is a male (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, February 2018]

Lateral view of a male Osprey with its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2022]

Lateral view of a male(?) Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil Dam, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2020]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a male Osprey carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2022]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female(?) Osprey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado river estuary, Setubal, Portugal, February 2025]

Lateral view of a female(?) Osprey in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado river estuary, Setubal, Portugal, August 2022]

Lateral view of a female(?) Osprey in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado river estuary, Setubal, Portugal, August 2022]

On average, male Ospreys have less prominent chest bands than females; the very prominent chest band on the bird in this ventral view suggests that it may be a female (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, February 2018]

Ventral view of a female(?) Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Sex unknown

Frontal/ventral view of an Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-frontal/ventral view of an Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Lateral view of an Osprey in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, February 2018]

Lateral view of an Osprey in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, February 2018]

Lateral view onto the upperwings of an Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Ventral view of an Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Ventral view of an Osprey in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal portrait of a juvenile Osprey; note the dark streaking on the head, the orange irises and the light-grey edge lining on the wing coverts (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2024]

Close-up frontal portrait of a juvenile Osprey with its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2024]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Osprey with its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, October 2018]

Additional information

More photos of Ospreys, race "haliaetus", were taken in Oman.

To watch the activities around a pair of Ospreys' aerie in Wales live, click HERE .

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Apart from a few locations in southern Iberia and the Balearic islands, where they are sedentary, Ospreys in Europe are migratory. Some may overwinter on the coastal fringe of the western Mediterranean. Most migrate to northern and north-eastern Europe for breeding.

Birds, in particular raptors, that hover above their prey will always do so facing into the wind to get optimal air lift.

Food, Diet

All raptors are carnivores. Ospreys feed on fish, which they can catch up to 1 m below the water surface.

Lateral view of an Osprey carrying away its prey, a big fish (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuarly, Portugal, January 2023]

Dorsal view of an Osprey carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2018]

Dorsal/ventral view of an Osprey carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, February 2018]

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