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Osprey Pandion haliaetus   [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names Trends & Distribution Breeding & Survival Biometrics Books & Links
Order: Accipitriformes Family: Pandionidae
BTO Codes: OP , OSPRE EURING No: 3010
Number in Britain: 148 pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Rare
Global: Least Concern
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Status in UK: (A)  Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor
Subspecies: haliaetus recorded in Britain (of 4 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 56 cm Wingspan: 158 cm Weight: M/F: 1.5 kg    
Scientific name from: after Pandion, mythical Greek king of Attica and Gr.: halos=the sea + aetos=an eagle
World Distribution: Cosmopolitan, Northern populations generally winter further south
Habitat: Lakes, rivers, seacoasts
Diet: Fish, caught in talons after dive
TitBit: Satellite tracking shows Ospreys can fly up to 430km in one day on their way to west Africa. About 20 flying days are required for the journey but in autumn birds stop off to refuel on 14 days, in spring they only stop off for about 4 in order to arrive b  
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Population and Distribution
Population Trend: No population trend available
Distribution: No distribution maps available
British Population Size:
    Summer: 148 pairs in 1998-02
    First Record: 10th Century [Fossil evidence from Devensian (last) glaciation, 10-120,000 yr ago]
    First Breeding Record: Scotland (after extinct 1916) 1954
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    No habitat data from BBS
European Population Size:
    Summer: 5600 to 7 thousand pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(I,IV), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), CITES(II)
Survey Results:
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Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 62 x 46 mm Egg Weight: 72.0 g (of which 10 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 4
Clutch Size: 2 - 3 eggs
Incubation: 37 days by the: Female (occ. Male)
Fledging: 53 days as: Altricial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1

Number Ringed: 107
Adult Survival: 0.815 Juvenile Survival: 0.427 (in First-Year)
Age at First Breeding: 3 years Typical Lifespan: 8 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 20yr11m   (Finland: 26yr 1m)
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Biometrics
Ring Size: K
Wing Length Adult: Insufficient Data.
Juvenile: Insufficient Data.
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Weight Adult: Insufficient Data.
Juvenile: Insufficient Data.
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
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Other Names
Gaelic: Iolaire-iasgaich Welsh: Gwalch y Pysgod
Danish: Fiskeørn Dutch: Visarend
Finnish: Kalasääski French: Balbuzard pêcheur
German: Fischadler Hungarian: Halászsas
Icelandic: Gjóður Irish: Coirneach
Italian: Falco pescatore Norwegian: Fiskeørn
Polish: Rybolów Portuguese: Águia-pesqueira
Spanish: Águila pescadora Swedish: Fiskgjuse
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For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
   Brown, P. 1979 The Scottish ospreys: from extinction to survival Heinemann, London [598.522 BRO]
   Poole, A. 1989 Ospreys: a natural and unnatural history Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [598.522 POO]
   Dennis, R. 2008 A life of ospreys Whittles Publishing
See Also:
All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Wikipedia entry
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
Selected scientific papers published 1980-2005
Find more papers on Google Scholar
Find more papers on Scirus

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Email: birdfacts@bto.org

These data should be cited as:
Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.22, Oct 2008). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)

 

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