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The nature of our planet is rich in a large number of diverse species of amazing and beautiful birds. Some of them are quite common, and some are very rare. It is to this category of rare birds of prey that such a species as osprey can be attributed. Further, the material presented will describe the character and appearance of this bird of prey, as well as what it eats, where it lives, and what is its natural habitat.
Osprey predators
Osprey is a rare bird of prey, this species belongs to a fairly extensive and widespread family of falcons. The natural habitat of representatives of this species is the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The body length of the bird reaches 58 cm, the wingspan of the osprey is up to 170 cm.
The upper part of the tail of the osprey has a characteristic brown hue, the lower part of the body, as well as the nape of the bird, is white. The carpal joints are decorated with dark brown spots. Also, the same spots, but of smaller sizes, cover the neck area, which creates the appearance of a beautiful pebble necklace worn on a bird. Of particular note are the brown stripes that cross almost the entire body of the bird - from the beak and eyes to the bottom of the sides.
The osprey has, although rather low, a short but strongly convex beak in black. A characteristic feature of this part of the bird's body is the hook-shaped end. Paws of a bird and waxen - light, lead color. Note that this species of the family of falcon legs has a large length, decorated with convex, curved and quite large claws.
Another feature of this species of bird of prey is that the osprey’s large outer finger can rotate in different directions, which greatly helps the predator in hunting and keeping the caught prey firmly.
Osprey wings have a water-repellent effect, this is especially important when a bird falls into the water for hunting. Water-repellent grease is secreted by the iron located in the rear of the housing. Also, the structure of the nostrils of the predator provides for a special valve that prevents water from entering the respiratory tract - in the event that the osprey dives under it in order to grab the fish of its choice. This is especially true when the predator captures a sufficiently large fish that can resist, thereby pulling the bird behind him in depth.
The color of young osprey individuals is more colorful and bright, however, the appearance of adult birds attracts more attention due to the beautiful plumage with its original color and fairly rigid feathers.
Note that such a bird of prey as an osprey is rightfully considered a long-liver, its life span is several tens of years. But in fact, often the majority of young birds die in the natural environment, having barely lived up to 2 years.
Osprey's natural habitat, lifestyle features
Although osprey is a very rare bird of prey, however, it is common on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. With the onset of cold weather, ospreys usually fly to countries with a warmer and milder climate.
In the warm season, osprey can be found in almost any part of Europe. Nesting sites for these birds of prey are various natural water bodies (shallow water). This is due to the fact that it is in such places that the most fish is found, which makes it possible for ospreys to prove themselves as excellent hunters.
As a rule, only those bird populations fly away for wintering, the main habitats of which are the northern regions of our planet.Osprey populations living in the southern regions are sedentary.
Having found the territory most attractive in terms of living conditions, predators often settle in small groups on it, as a rule, these are coastal areas characterized by a warm climate. The peculiarity of the ospreys is that the arrangement of places for the subsequent nesting of birds, as well as hunting, can be carried out jointly.
Ospreys have their nests away from ponds. For this reason, they cannot always provide them with proper protection, as they are mainly engaged in hunting. Nevertheless, if the predator is near the nest at the time of the attack on the nest, he fiercely protects him from the encroachments of his opponent.
The male's task is to provide the female with food during the egg-laying period. Often, while waiting for the appearance of future offspring, the male does not have time to provide both himself and the female with the required amount of food. In this case, the males bring males from the nests located in the neighborhood.
When the chicks hatch, adult birds usually do not leave the nest for a long time, with the exception of hunting for feeding offspring.
Features of osprey nutrition
Such a bird of prey as an osprey is often often referred to by many bird lovers as a sea eagle. This is due to the fact that the basic osprey ration consists of 80% of fish. During the hunting process, the predator mainly tries to catch not too large fish that swim almost under the surface of the water. This osprey tactic characterizes the physical characteristics of a bird - a predator cannot dive deeply for its prey.
As a rule, the osprey begins to hunt from a span over the selected reservoir, the bird circles above it at a height of 40 meters, looking for its future prey. After the fish is found, the predator rushes sharply down, lowering its clawed legs and taking its wings up. As soon as the osprey grabbed the prey, he immediately soars up into the air. Caught prey is always held tightly by the predator with two paws - this is done so that the caught animals do not interfere with the predator during the flight.
This species of birds starts its prey from its head, while the main part of the body of the fish is practically not used by the predator (it belongs to the nest for feeding the female or is thrown away).
The success of hunting a “sea eagle” directly depends on several factors: weather conditions favorable for food extraction, as well as ebbs and flows.
In addition to the fish that the osprey catches, the latter can also eat a variety of small animals (both aquatic and land-based). We draw attention to the fact that this bird practically does not consume water. This is because a sufficient amount of liquid is present in the fish caught in an osprey.
Breeding
It is important to consider that the breeding season of ospreys can vary in their timing. For example, in populations leading a sedentary lifestyle, the breeding period begins somewhat earlier than in migratory predators. The mating season for those birds that are sedentary and live permanently in the same territory is from December to early spring. The breeding season of migratory ospreys is the middle and the end of spring (from April to May).
Having chosen a female, the male osprey begins to attract her attention by all means, often circling over the place of her nesting, thereby also frightening off other applicants. After pairing, the birds begin the joint construction of a common nest. As a rule, it is the female who chooses the material for construction and its subsequent arrangement (dry branches, leaves, grass).
Egg laying is carried out by the female osprey not at a time, but with some pauses, which have a duration of 1-2 days. Emerging chicks from eggs of early masonry are often much healthier and stronger than the rest of the offspring, however, they do not always have enough food obtained by their parents for full development.The average number of chicks that appear in a young pair of ospreys is from 2 to 4.
Egg incubation is carried out by both birds for 40 days. To feed the emerged chicks, fish used by the male for hunting is used.
The process of feeding the offspring of ospreys implies that the bird carefully separates the fish brought by the male or part of it between the chicks. To do this, she tears her carcass into parts with sharp claws and a beak. In order to warm the offspring while lowering the air temperature, the female uses her own plumage, thereby carefully wrapping the chicks and warming them with the heat of her body.
Already after 6-7 weeks, osprey chicks begin to learn to independently get their own food, watching their parents hunt for prey. With the onset of autumn, the offspring offspring is ready for flight and the beginning of an independent life.
Video: osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
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