Editing Osprey (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
===Diet===
The osprey is [[Piscivore|piscivorous]], with fish making up 99% of its diet.<ref name="evans82" /> It typically takes live fish weighing {{cvt|150|-|300|g}} and about {{cvt|25|-|35|cm}} in length, but virtually any type of fish from {{cvt|50|g}} to {{cvt|2|kg}} can be taken.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees2001" /> Even larger {{cvt|2.8|kg}} [[northern pike]] (''Esox lucius'') has been taken in [[Russia]].<ref>Adrianova, Olga V. & Boris N. Kashevarov. "Some results of long-term raptor monitoring in the Kostomuksha Nature Reserve." Status of Raptor Populations in Eastern Fennoscandia. Kostomuksha (2005).</ref> The species rarely scavenges dead or dying fish.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees, J. 2001" />

Ospreys have a vision that is well adapted to detecting underwater objects from the air. Prey is first sighted when the osprey is {{cvt|10|-|40|m}} above the water, after which the bird hovers momentarily and then plunges feet first into the water.<ref name="BNA" /> They catch fish by diving into a body of water, oftentimes completely submerging their entire bodies. As an osprey dives it adjusts the angle of its flight to account for the distortion of the fish's image caused by [[refraction]]. Ospreys will typically eat on a nearby perch but have also been known to carry fish for longer distances.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunne |first1=P. |title=Hawks in flight : the flight identification of North American raptors |date=2012 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-395-70959-7 |edition=Second}}</ref>

Occasionally, the osprey may prey on [[rodent]]s, [[rabbit]]s, [[hare]]s, other [[mammal]]s, [[snake]]s, [[turtle]]s, [[frog]]s, [[bird]]s, [[salamander]]s, [[conch]]s, and [[crustacean]]s.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees, J. 2001" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/osprey/osprey | title=Osprey |website=The Peregrine Fund}}</ref><ref name="Goenka1985" /> Reports of ospreys feeding on carrion are rare. They have been observed eating dead [[white-tailed deer]] and [[Virginia opossum]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pandion_haliaetus/ |title=''Pandion haliaetus'' (Osprey)|website=[[Animal Diversity Web]]}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="110">
File:Osprey on nest.jpg
File:Osprey Fish Nictitating.png|American osprey with [[American gizzard shad]]
File:Pandion haliaetus -San Francisco Bay, California, USA-head-8 (2).jpg|American osprey with scraps of fish on its beak
File:WesternOsprey (cropped).jpg|Eurasian osprey feeding on a fish in [[Kartung]], [[the Gambia]]. Characteristically its tongue often pokes out whilst swallowing food.
</gallery>

===Adaptations===
The osprey has several [[adaptation]]s that suit its piscivorous lifestyle. These include reversible outer toes,<ref name="Clark1987" /> sharp [[wikt:spicule|spicules]] on the underside of the toes,<ref name="Clark1987" /> closable nostrils to keep out water during dives, backward-facing scales on the talons which act as barbs to help hold its catch and dense plumage which is oily and prevents its feathers from getting waterlogged.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/zoology/Pandion_haliaetus.pdf|title=''Pandion haliaetu''s Linnaeus Osprey |publisher=Michigan Natural Features Inventory |access-date=11 May 2016}}</ref>[[File:Osprey prepare to mate.jpg|thumb|American ospreys preparing to mate on the nest]]

===Reproduction===
[[File:Osprey with its nest.jpg|thumb|Eurasian osprey standing next to its nest showing their relative sizes]]

The osprey breeds near freshwater lakes and rivers, and sometimes on coastal brackish waters. Rocky outcrops just offshore are used in [[Rottnest Island]] off the coast of [[Western Australia]], where there are 14 or so similar nesting sites of which five to seven are used in any one year. Many are renovated each season, and some have been used for 70 years. The nest is a large heap of sticks, driftwood, turf, or seaweed built in forks of trees, rocky outcrops, utility poles, artificial platforms, or offshore islets.<ref name="evans82" /><ref name="Berulds03" /> As wide as 2 meters and weighing about {{cvt|135|kg}}, large nests on utility poles may be [[fire hazard]]s and have caused [[power outage]]s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/osprey-nest-moved-by-bc-hydro-crews-weighs-300-pounds-1.2853873 | title=Osprey nest moved by BC Hydro crews weighs 300 pounds | publisher=CBC News - British Columbia, Canada | date=28 November 2014 | access-date=18 May 2016}}</ref>

Generally, ospreys reach sexual maturity and begin breeding around the age of three to four, though in some regions with high osprey densities, such as [[Chesapeake Bay]] in the United States, they may not start breeding until five to seven years old, and there may be a shortage of suitable tall structures. If there are no nesting sites available, young ospreys may be forced to delay breeding. To ease this problem, posts are sometimes erected to provide more sites suitable for nest building.<ref name="chesapeake" /> The nesting platform design developed by the  organization [[Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.]] has become the official design of the [[State of New Jersey]], U.S. The nesting platform plans and materials list, available online, have been utilized by people from a number of different geographical regions.<ref name="cumauriceriver" /> There is a global site for mapping osprey nest locations and logging observations on reproductive success.<ref name="osprey-watch" />

Ospreys usually mate for life. Rarely, [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]] has been recorded.<ref name="Dennis2007b" /> The breeding season varies according to latitude: spring (September–October) in southern Australia, April to July in northern Australia, and winter (June–August) in southern Queensland.<ref name="Berulds03" /> In spring, the pair begins a five-month period of partnership to raise their young. The female lays two to four [[bird egg|eggs]] within a month and relies on the size of the nest to conserve heat. The eggs are whitish with bold splotches of reddish-brown and are about {{cvt|6.2|x|4.5|cm}} and weigh about {{cvt|65|g}}.<ref name="Berulds03" /> The eggs are incubated for about 35–43 days to hatching.<ref>Poole, Alan F. ''Ospreys, A Natural and Unnatural History'' 1989</ref>

The newly hatched chicks weigh only {{cvt|50|-|60|g}}, but fledge in 8–10 weeks. A study on [[Kangaroo Island]], South Australia, had an average time between hatching and fledging of 69 days. The same study found an average of 0.66 young fledged per year per occupied territory, and 0.92 young fledged per year per active nest. Some 22% of surviving young either remained on the island or returned at maturity to join the breeding population.<ref name="Dennis2007b" /> When food is scarce, the first chicks to hatch are most likely to survive. The typical lifespan is 7–10 years, though rarely individuals can grow to as old as 20–25 years.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} The oldest European wild osprey on record lived to be over thirty years of age.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="110">
File:Pandion haliaetus MWNH 0705.JPG|Egg, collection of the [[Museum Wiesbaden]]
File:Osprey chicks at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. (5343668960).jpg|Hatchling chicks
File:Osprey Chicks (26177677892) (cropped).jpg|5 week old chicks
File:Osprey Fledgling (16995065659) (cropped).jpg|Fledgling juvenile
File:Pandion haliaetus -San Francisco Bay, California, USA -head-8.jpg|Adult
</gallery>

===Migration===
European breeders winter in Africa.<ref name="Collins" /> American and Canadian breeders winter in South America, although some stay in the southernmost U.S. states such as [[Florida]] and [[California]].<ref name="microwave" /> Some ospreys from Florida migrate to South America.<ref name="Martell2004" /> [[Australasia]]n ospreys tend not to [[bird migration|migrate]].

Studies of Swedish ospreys showed that females tend to migrate to Africa earlier than males. More stopovers are made during their autumn migration. The variation of timing and duration in autumn was more variable than in spring. Although migrating predominantly during the day, they sometimes fly in the dark hours, particularly in crossings over water and cover on average {{cvt|260|-|280|km}} per day with a maximum of {{cvt|431|km}} per day.<ref name="Alerstam2006" /> European birds may also winter in South Asia, as indicated by an osprey tagged in Norway being monitored in western India.<ref name="Mundkur1988" /> In the Mediterranean, ospreys show partial migratory behaviour with some individuals remaining resident, whilst others undertake relatively short migration trips.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Monti, F. |author2=Grémillet, D. |author3=Sforzi, A. |author4=Sammuri, G. |author5=Dominici, J.M. |author6=Bagur, R.T. |author7=Navarro, A.M. |author8=Fusani, L. |author9=Duriez, O. |year=2018 |title=Migration and wintering strategies in vulnerable Mediterranean Osprey populations |journal=Ibis |volume=160 |pages=554–567 |doi=10.1111/ibi.12567 |issue=3|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Mortality ===
Swedish ospreys have a significantly higher mortality rate during migration seasons than during stationary periods, with more than half of the total annual mortality occurring during migration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Klaassen |first1=R. H. G. |last2=Hake |first2=M. |last3=Strandberg |first3=R. |last4=Koks |first4=B.J. |last5=Trierweiler |first5=C. |last6=Exo |first6=K.-M. |last7=Bairlein |first7=F. |last8=Alerstam |first8=T. |date=2013 |title=When and where does mortality occur in migratory birds? Direct evidence from long-term satellite tracking of raptors |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=176–184 |doi=10.1111/1365-2656.12135 |pmid=24102110 |doi-access=free}}</ref> These deaths can also be categorized into spatial patterns: Spring mortality occurs mainly in Africa, which can be traced to crossing the [[Sahara desert]]. Mortality can also occur through mishaps with human utilities, such as nesting near overhead electric cables or collisions with aircraft.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Washburn |first=B.E. |year=2014 |title=Human–Osprey Conflicts: Industry, Utilities, Communication, and Transportation |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2592&context=icwdm_usdanwrc |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=48|issue=4|pages=387–395 |doi=10.3356/jrr-ospr-13-04.1 |s2cid=30695523|doi-access=free}}</ref>