Osprey

Osprey, common name applied to a cosmopolitan hawk (see Hawk). The bird, which is about 60 cm (about 24 in) long, is dark brown above and white, variably streaked with brown, below; its head is white with a dark brown masklike cheek patch. The osprey feeds only on fish, and is often called fish hawk. When seeking food, it hovers over a body of water and dives beneath the surface to capture fish in its talons. Ospreys build large, basketlike nests of sticks in trees; they will readily accept elevated platforms erected to keep them from nesting on adjacent utility poles. Highly migratory, they return from winter migrations to breed in the same nests for many years. The characteristic cry of the osprey is a thin, shrill whistle. Ospreys were once common along the Atlantic coastal regions of North America. Their numbers were seriously reduced when DDT and other pesticide residues in their food interfered with reproduction, but with the banning of these chemicals, ospreys have made an excellent recovery.

Scientific classification: The osprey makes up the family Pandionidae of the order Falconiformes. It is classified as Pandion haliaetus.