May 24, 2010; Tower Falls, Yellowstone National Park.
From Wikipedia:The
Osprey (
Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the
sea hawk,
fish eagle or
fish hawk, is a
diurnal,
fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large
raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts, with a black eye patch and wings.
The Osprey tolerates a wide variety of
habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding
migrant.
As its other common name suggests, the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own
taxonomic genus,
Pandion and
family,
Pandionidae. Four
subspecies are usually recognised. Despite its propensity to nest near water, the Osprey is not a
sea-eagle.