Skopets is the best fisherman in the world of feathered predators. In what natural zone does the osprey, a feathered predator, live? Osprey Photos
Osprey - the well-known fisherman (Pandionhaliaetus) - one of the most common birds of prey, found on all continents of the world, with the exception of Antarctica. It can be seen especially often in Scandinavia and the Chesapeake Bay region (USA). They can live almost anywhere as long as there are safe nesting sites and a body of water with enough fish.
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The osprey has a slender body, long, narrow wings and long legs. During flight, its wings have a characteristic M-shape when viewed from below. The plumage is bright white below, with dark brown spots on the carpal joint, and around the neck there is a mottled dark brown necklace. The feathers of the upper body are brown. The legs are pale blue-gray and the bill is black. Females often have darker plumage and necklaces than males. An adult bird is 55-58 cm long and weighs from 1.3 to 2.5 kg, with a wingspan of 145 to 170 cm. Females are usually slightly heavier than males and have a longer wingspan.
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The osprey feeds almost exclusively on fish. It will eat almost any type of fish available, with prey size being the only limiting factor. Very rarely, this bird also took other prey, including birds, reptiles and amphibians, and rodents.
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This predator is a well-known fisherman. During this amazing process, British photographer Bill Doherty managed to take unique photographs. He captured an osprey while fishing, which lasted only a few seconds. When the bird spots prey in the water, it briefly hovers and then dives towards the surface of the water. Swings its legs forward and bends its wings back just before diving into the water and grabbing its prey. She then uses strong, almost horizontal strokes to lift herself and her prey out of the water.
Osprey photo by Billy Doherty
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The breeding season for non-migratory populations lasts from December to March. And for those migrating it begins in April or May. Both sexes collect materials for the nest, but the female does most of it. Nests are typically made from sticks and are lined with softer materials such as seaweed, grass or cardboard. The pair uses the same nest year after year, so they spend some time each year making repairs before laying eggs.
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The female lays two to four eggs over several days. Both the male and female incubate the eggs, which hatch in about 40 days. After fledging in 48 to 76 days, young ospreys begin to hunt on their own, but may continue to return to the nest to receive food from their parents for another two to eight weeks. Sexual maturity is reached in the third year of life.
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The osprey's natural enemies are owls and eagles. Although they rarely attack adult birds, they are not averse to dining on their chicks. Raccoons, snakes and other rocky animals also feed on osprey eggs and chicks.
The osprey is not listed on the International Red Book, but is listed as endangered in several US states, including Michigan. It is also included in the Red Book of Russia and the Red Book of Belarus.
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Description of Osprey
Pandion haliaetus (osprey) is a diurnal predator, solely representing the order Osprey (Pandion Savigny) and the Osprey family (Pandionidae). In turn, the family is included in the extensive order Accipitridae.
Appearance
A large bird with a characteristic coloring - a white head with a black stripe running from the beak through the eye to the back of the head, a blackish-gray top and a white chest with a dark speckled necklace crossing it across it. A small crest is visible on the back of the head, and the osprey itself always looks disheveled.
There may be variations in coloration depending on the specific subspecies and its location, but all ospreys have long and wide wings with a specific bend at the carpal joint. Due to the bow-shaped wings, whose ends are directed downwards, the soaring osprey becomes like a seagull, and the wings themselves seem less wide.
The short, straight-truncated tail spreads like a fan in flight, revealing (when viewed from below) a series of dark transverse lines on a light background. The osprey has yellow eyes and a black hook-shaped beak. The tarsus, covered with small polygonal shields, is devoid of feathers. Permanent coloring appears in ospreys at about one and a half years of age.
Juveniles would be indistinguishable from adults if not for the orange-red iris, paler necklace, and light brown spotting on the outside of the tail and wings.
Ornithologists talk about several features that make it easier for ospreys to fish - greasy, water-resistant feathers; nasal valves that close when diving; powerful long paws with curved claws.
Bird sizes
This is a fairly large predator, gaining up to 1.6–2 kg of mass with a length of 55–58 cm and a wingspan of up to 1.45–1.7 m. In addition, the size of the osprey, as well as the nuances of its coloring, depend on the subspecies inhabiting in a certain region.
Ornithologists distinguish 4 subspecies of osprey:
- Pandion haliaetus haliaetus is the largest and darkest subspecies inhabiting Eurasia;
- Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi – similar in size to P. h. haliaetus, but has a lighter head. A sedentary subspecies living on the islands of the Caribbean;
- Pandion haliaetus carolinensis is a dark and large subspecies that lives in North America;
- Pandion haliaetus cristatus is the smallest subspecies, whose representatives settled in the coastal marine zone, as well as along the shores big rivers Australia and Tasmania.
In general, it is clear that ospreys living in higher latitudes are larger than their relatives born in the tropics and subtropics.
Lifestyle
Osprey is classified as ichthyophagous, and therefore cannot imagine its life without a lake, river, swamp or reservoir. The nearest body of water is located within the boundaries of the osprey’s hunting area and is 0.01–10 km from its nest. The nesting density varies - two neighboring nests can be separated by hundreds of meters or many kilometers.
Osprey will never give up the opportunity to control several small bodies of water or different sections of a large river/reservoir at once (based on the direction of the wind during the hunt). To provide such control, the osprey builds a nest in a river bend or on a mane in the middle of a swamp.
Most ospreys adhere to personal feeding territories and therefore rarely form colonies. Grouping occurs more often on islands, as well as along transmission lines, that is, where there is plenty of space for cluster nesting.
Ospreys often resort to collective hunting, which is more effective than solo hunting. Birds rest in trees, observing their innate caution. They sit in a column on branches, steep coastal rocks, flat or steep banks. The osprey makes sounds like “kay-kay-kay”, changing to higher “ki-ki-ki” sounds near the nest.
When an osprey looks for prey in a river, it usually shakes - it stops and hovers over the water surface, quickly flapping its wings. Ospreys protect their nests, but do not defend individual territories, since their favorite food (all kinds of fish) is mobile and can be located at different distances from the nest.
The southern representatives of the species are more inclined to settle down, while the northern ospreys are predominantly migratory.
Lifespan
Ospreys live a long time, at least 20–25 years, and the older the bird gets, the higher its chances of long life. Different populations have their own survival statistics, but in general the picture is as follows – 60% of young birds up to 2 years old and 80–90% of adult birds survive.
Fact. Ornithologists managed to track the ringed female, who holds the record for longevity in Europe. In 2011 she turned 30 years old.
In North America, the oldest osprey was recognized as a male who lived to be 25 years old. He was survived by more than a year by a male living in Finland, who was 26 years and 25 days old at the time of death. But it should be understood that most ospreys in wildlife They rarely live to that age.
Sexual dimorphism
Differences between the sexes in color are noticeable only with careful observation - females are always darker and have a brighter speckled necklace. In addition, females are 20% heavier than males: the former weigh on average 1.6–2 kg, the latter – from 1.2 kg to 1.6 kg. Also, female ospreys exhibit a larger (5–10%) wingspan.
Range, habitat
The osprey inhabits both hemispheres, on the continents of which it breeds or winters. It is not yet clear whether representatives of the species breed in Indo-Malaysia and South America, but in winter they see birds there all the time. Also in winter, ospreys regularly nest in Egypt and on parts of the Red Sea islands.
Ospreys choose safe corners for nesting, not far from shallow, fish-rich areas. Nests are built 3–5 km from bodies of water (reservoirs, lakes, swamps or rivers), but sometimes right above the water.
In Russia, ospreys prefer long, cold lakes, as well as river rifts/reaches, where tall trees (with dried tops) grow, suitable for nesting. Birds are very wary of people, but they allow them quite close in Australia and America, building nests even in transformer substations.
Osprey diet
It consists of more than 99% of a variety of fish, since the osprey is not picky and grabs everything that moves closer to the surface of the water. True, when the fish assortment is extensive, the osprey chooses 2–3 of the most delicious (in its opinion) species. Ospreys often hunt in flight (occasionally from ambush): they hover over the surface of the water, rising no higher than 10–40 m. With this method of hunting, water transparency is important for ospreys, since it is very difficult to see prey in a muddy body of water.
Hunting
An osprey effectively rushes after a fish from a height - having noticed it from a low-level flight, the bird half-folds its wings and stretches its paws forward, rapidly falling onto the prey in a vertical peak or at an angle of 45 degrees. Often it goes under the water entirely, but immediately flies up, carrying the trophy (usually pointing head first) in the claws of one or both paws.
Interesting. Long claws, whose bottom fingers are studded with sharp tubercles, as well as a backward-facing front finger (for securely capturing prey) help to hold a slippery fish.
To take off from the water surface, the osprey uses a powerful, almost horizontal wing stroke. In the air, it habitually shakes itself off and flies to a tree or cliff to leisurely have lunch. Having completed the meal, he returns to the river to wash off the fish scales and mucus, dipping his feet and head into the water.
Extraction
An adult osprey weighing 2 kg is not afraid to fish for prey equal to or even greater in weight, pulling out three- and even four-kilogram fish. True, this is more an exception than a rule - much more often she carries around one hundred or two hundred gram fish.
It happens that an osprey does not calculate its strength and digs its claws into an unbearable prey weighing 4 or more kg. If the bird does not have time to release its claws, the heavy fish drags it to the bottom. Fishermen periodically catch large pike and carp with a creepy “decoration” on their back - the skeleton of a dead osprey. There is also a photograph of one such find, which shows a large carp (caught in Saxony) with a dead osprey sitting on its ridge.
Details
The bird eats the fish starting from the head. If the male is feeding the female at this time, he eats part of the catch, taking the other part to the nest. In general, ospreys are not accustomed to hiding what they have caught: they carry it, throw it away, or leave the remains in the nest.
It is known that ospreys disdain carrion and hardly drink water, quenching daily requirement in moisture with fresh fish.
Ornithologists also calculated the percentage of successful dives (24–74%), noting that the indicator is influenced by weather, tides and the abilities of the osprey itself. One percent of the bird of prey menu is occupied by frogs, water voles, muskrats, squirrels, salamanders, snakes, small birds and even tiny crocodiles.
Reproduction and offspring
From wintering grounds, ospreys usually fly to the opening of reservoirs one by one, although the males do this a little earlier. Couples try to return to their native nests, restoring them in the spring as necessary.
Nesting
You can often see a male performing aerial pirouettes above the nest - these are elements of a mating ritual and at the same time an attempt to scare away rivals.
Ospreys are generally monogamous, but exhibit polygamy when nests are in close proximity and the male can defend both. The first nest in this case is of greater importance for the male, since he first takes the fish there.
Ospreys living in Russia mainly nest on tall coniferous trees that grow on the edge of a forest, on the banks of a river/lake, or stand alone on the edges. Such a tree rises 1–10 m above the forest canopy and must support a massive nest of branches designed to last for several years.
A little less often, a nest appears on power line supports, artificial platforms and even buildings. Ground-nesting ospreys are not uncommon in Australia. The nest is made from branches, entwined with seaweed or grass, often using unconventional building materials - plastic bags, fishing line and other objects found in the water. The inside of the nest is lined with moss and grass.
Chicks
The female lays a couple of light-colored eggs (densely marked with purple, brown or gray spots), which are incubated by both parents. After 35–38 days, the chicks hatch, and the father is responsible for feeding the family, not only the brood, but also the female. The mother guards the chicks and waits for food from her partner, and when she doesn’t receive it, she begs from nearby males.
Interesting. A caring father daily drags from 3 to 10 fish, 60–100 g each, into the nest. Both parents can tear the flesh into pieces and give them to the chicks.
No sooner than 10 days later, the chicks change their white downy outfit to dark gray, and acquire their first feathers after another couple of weeks. The brood fully fledges in 48–76 days: in migrating populations the process of fledge is accelerated.
By the second month of their life, the chicks reach 70–80% of the size of adult birds, and having fledged, they make their first attempts to hunt independently. Already able to catch fish, the chicks do not hesitate to return to the nest and demand food from their parents. The family's total summer catch is approximately 120–150 kg.
A brood of osprey sits in the nest for almost 2 months, but unlike the offspring of other birds of prey, when threatened, it does not show aggression, but, on the contrary, tries to hide. Parents often leave the nest so as not to expose the growing young. Reproductive function In young ospreys it appears no earlier than 3 years of age.
There are many amazing birds in our nature. Some of them are quite common species, but some are very rare. The osprey belongs to this category of rare and amazing birds. What is remarkable about the osprey bird, where it lives and what it looks like, we will describe in the article.
Osprey predator
Interesting and amazing bird osprey belongs to the falcon family. It is found in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. This is a large bird of prey with a wingspan of 145–170 cm and a body length of 55–58 cm. If you look at the photo, you will notice that the feathers on the upper side of the body are brown, and white:
- back of the head;
- crown;
- lower side of the body.
Dark brown spots cover the wrist joints. Small necklace-shaped spots stand out in the neck area. The sides of the bird are decorated with brown stripes, they pass through the eye and neck starting from the beak. It has a short, low and strongly convex black beak with a long and hook-shaped end. The waxweed and paws are lead-colored. The osprey's feet are longer than those of other birds of prey, with curved and convex claws. The bird's outer finger has a unique feature; it rotates in different sides. This makes it easy for a bird of prey to capture fish in the water.
Osprey wings have a water-repellent effect, and her nostrils are equipped with a special valve. This protects the nostrils from moisture during the hunt when she dives into the water. If a bird catches a large fish while hunting, it runs the risk of drowning in the water. It is difficult for her to break away from the water surface and take off. Above the tail of the predator there is a special gland that secretes a fatty substance, which saves the bird’s wings from getting wet in the water.
Juveniles seem more variegated in color, but adults have a beautiful appearance. Its body is covered with beautiful and stiff feathers. It is believed that the osprey is a long-lived bird and can live up to 25 years. In fact, many young individuals die early, most often before the age of 2 years.
Habitat and lifestyle
This bird species is common on almost all continents. They definitely don't live in Antarctica. In winter, ospreys fly to warm countries, for example, to Egypt. There they settle on the islands of the Red Sea and nest. In summer, the bird can be seen throughout almost all of Europe. The predator reaches the shores of Iceland and Scandinavia. Predators like to settle near various bodies of water, especially in places with shallow water. It's usually found there a large number of fish, which allows the osprey to have excellent hunting.
Only ospreys living in the northern regions of the planet fly away for the winter. Living in the southern parts of the planet lead a sedentary lifestyle and they don’t fly away from their homes. In places with excellent living conditions, they settle in groups, for example, along the coastline in warm places. Predators can jointly hunt prey and build nests together.
The osprey bird is not always guarding its nest, since it is located a little further from the reservoir and it does not have the opportunity to be nearby all the time. In case of attack, when she is nearby, she actively protects him from the encroachment of enemies. Males mate and provide food for their female. When a couple is waiting for offspring to appear, the male cannot always provide himself and the female with the necessary amount of food. Sometimes females are forced to ask other males in neighboring nests for food. Usually birds do not fly far only when they have to feed their growing offspring.
Nutrition
Osprey often called fisherman or sea eagle. This is due to the fact that the predator’s daily diet consists of 80% fish. They mainly catch small fish floating on the surface of the water, since they cannot dive deep. Hunting always takes place over a body of water. The bird flies above the water at an altitude of 10–40 meters. When the bird discovers future prey, it will suddenly rush into the water. When flying down, the osprey's wings rise and retract upward, and its paws descend downward into the water. As soon as the predator grabs the prey, its wings flap upward sharply and almost horizontally in order to quickly break away from the surface of the water.
The osprey holds its prey with both paws so that she didn't bother him during the flight. The predator begins to eat the caught prey from the head; it practically does not eat the rest. The bird can take the remaining meat to its nest or throw it away. Several factors can affect a successful hunt:
- ebbs and flows;
- weather.
Predators also feed on other foods. These can be small water and land animals:
Ospreys practically do not drink water, since there is a sufficient amount of water in the fish, which is enough for them.
Reproduction
Breeding season for ospreys depends on the type of bird, in migrating and sedentary birds it occurs in different time. For those who live in one place, the mating season begins in December-March. For migratory birds from the northern regions, the mating season lasts from April to May.
With the appearance of the female, the males start circling the nest, attracting her and scaring away other males. After choosing a partner, the pair begins building a nest together. Often the female independently finds material for arranging a nest. Typically, birds are collected for construction:
Osprey nest is the place of residence on long time , so every year the birds repair it and look after it. Females lay eggs not simultaneously, but with pauses. She lays one egg at intervals of 1–2 days. The first chicks are always stronger and healthier than the others that appear later. They often do not have enough food for normal development. A total of 2–4 chicks appear. For 40 days, both parents incubate the eggs. The parents feed the emerging chicks with fish caught by the male.
Thoughtful the female divides the fish between the chicks, tearing her apart. To warm her offspring, she covers them with her body. After 1–1.5 months, the cubs begin to learn to get food on their own by hunting for prey. With the onset of autumn migration, the cubs become ready for independent life.
Found on all continents of the world except Antarctica. Beautiful, proud, she, unfortunately, has become rare. This is a migratory species.
They winter in Africa and South Asia, where they fly from Eastern Europe in September. They return to their nesting sites in April.
The flight is long and difficult; if the bird is not sufficiently nourished, it will not be able to withstand it, flying, for example, over the ocean. There is nowhere to sit and rest, there is water all around.
During migration they stop to eat and rest. They can fly 500 km a day, strong endurance is needed. Unfortunately, not all birds can overcome such difficult tests.
The osprey settles on the shores of lakes, rivers and seas, where there is a lot of fish. It's pretty large bird, 55 - 63 cm long, weighing 1.2 - 2 kg, with females larger than males. The span of its pointed wings is 150 - 170 cm. Makes a sharp “kai-kai” cry.
The chest and belly are white, with dark streaks, the back is dark brown. The head is covered with light feathers, and on the sides, towards the body, from the eyes, there are dark stripes.
The bird has a strong build, a powerful curved beak, a short tail and strong legs with sharp claws. Under the bird's claws there are also pads with small spines that help to hold prey.
The osprey has a difference from all birds of prey: the hind and middle fingers are the same length, and the outer finger is also reversed. The explanation for this is that it is the only predator that feeds on fish.
Its paws are perfectly adapted for grasping and holding slippery and fidgety prey. There is a crest on the back of the bird's head. The feathers are covered with water-repellent grease, and the nostrils are protected by special valves from water entering them. Eyes yellow color, they are very sharp.
The osprey leads a solitary lifestyle, with the exception of the breeding season. 
Every day he catches fish, looking at them from a flying height. You need to clearly calculate everything, descend correctly and grab the catch. There are mistakes, and sometimes the hunter herself dies - the fish is too heavy for the bird. She cannot rise into the sky, for some reason she does not let go of her prey, and drowns.
It can hold fish weighing up to 3 kg in its claws; if the catch is more than this norm, then a sad ending will come for the fisherman. A predator can spot a fish in a soaring flight from a height of 30 meters, then suddenly rushes down, opens its claws, lowering them into the water, and once it grabs the fish, it will never let go.
He eats sitting on a branch or on an earthen cliff. He eats about 400-600g of fish per day. If fishing is not going well, he can snack on a frog or mouse. Eagles often take prey from her. Enemies - owls, eagles, snakes, raccoons.
The nest is built high in the trees, at the very tops of branches and twigs, not far from the water. The pair returns to their 1.5 meter nest year after year, renovating it. The female will lay 2-3 white eggs with reddish-brown speckles.
Both parents incubate the clutch for approximately 35 days. Then the male flies for food, and the female spends the first days in the nest with the chicks, warming them with her warmth.
The chicks are covered with white down, which after ten days will change to a dark gray color. The fish that the parent brings to the nest is torn into small pieces and then distributed to the hungry, insatiable chicks.
At 12 weeks of age, they begin to explore the world outside the nest. Very curious, they disturb and disturb other birds. The young will leave the nest at the age of two months, when they are fully feathered.
They learn to fly and get their own food. Of course, not everything works out right away, only patience, work and perseverance will teach them to survive in this beautiful wild world of nature. And soon they will have their first long flight to the southern regions, where it is warm and there is a lot of fish.
There are many varieties of birds in nature, including the most amazing ones. These can be both familiar birds and completely rare species. It is in the latter category that the bird called the osprey, or osprey, belongs. Today, as part of our article, we will get acquainted with this amazing creature, consider why the Osprey bird is remarkable, what it looks like, where it lives and what it eats, and also why this feathered predator is on the verge of extinction.
Appearance
Externally, the bird differs from other representatives of its species. The description of the osprey bird is quite characteristic, and it is not easy to confuse this feathered predator with other inhabitants of the sky. Looking at the photo of the osprey bird, its size immediately catches your eye. The osprey bird is quite large:
- Its wingspan reaches 1.8 m.
- Body length 0.6 m.
- The mass of an individual varies from 1.6 to 2 kg.
Females weigh more than males.
What does an osprey bird look like? Its back is dark, and its chest and belly are almost white. Males are lighter than females. Another sign by which a female can be identified is a kind of “necklace” of specks on the chest.
On the sides of the head, starting from the eyes, there is a characteristic stripe of dark feathers. The wings are dark brown. The legs and beak are black. The feathers are hard and have water-repellent properties. Young individuals differ from older ones by being more spotted. The eye membranes of young individuals are orange-red. The birds' voice is abrupt and sharp, reminiscent of the sound "kai-kai".
The nostrils of these birds have peculiar valves that serve as protection against the ingress of water. The legs are strong, the tail is short, the fingers end in sharp claws. Under the claws there are spiked pads that allow the osprey to hold slippery prey. Rear and middle fingers on the paws they are of the same length. The outer finger is reversible. Such adaptations are not accidental. The fishing bird Osprey is an aquatic predator whose main diet is fidgety and slippery fish. It can be quite difficult to wriggle out with such a grip.
Living conditions
Despite the fact that representatives of this species of birds are relatively few in number, they are distributed across all continents of the planet, except Antarctica. It is not known whether sea eagles nest on the South American continent, but they winter in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. Birds of prey love to nest in winter on islands in the Red Sea and in Egypt.
The osprey fishing bird winters on the Indonesian islands, the Philippines and Malaysia. Sometimes the sea eagle is caught on the territory of Australia and the islands of Melanesia (for example, on the Solomon Islands). These birds have completely mastered the North American continent. They are found along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, in Florida and even in Alaska. The summer habitat of ospreys reaches northern latitudes. In Europe these are Iceland and Scandinavia.
The Osprey bird of prey prefers to settle along the banks of shallow bodies of water - lakes, rivers and swamps. The main part of their diet is fish.
Osprey nests at some distance from bodies of water (about 3-5 km), but sometimes they make their homes on small islands or on coastal rocks. The main condition is that the nest site be sufficiently safe and inaccessible to predators. Birds fly away from their nests at a distance of 14-15 km. If individuals do not have offspring, they travel less.
Nutrition
It is no coincidence that ospreys are called sea eagles. These are fishing birds. Fish makes up about 98% of their diet. They do not have any specific food preferences. The prey of a predator can be fish, which can be seen from the height of the bird's flight.
Sea eagle hunting is a fascinating and very beautiful spectacle. Ospreys ambush very rarely. In most cases, they look for fish in flight, from a height of 10-30 m. Having seen a potential victim, the bird quickly descends with its wings laid back and its clawed paws extended forward. At this moment, the feathered predator resembles a super-fast fighter. The calculation is so accurate that the fish has virtually no chance of escape.
According to ornithologist statistics, the percentage of successful osprey dives reaches 75%. The bird catches fish not with its beak, but with its claws. It dives to a shallow depth, grabs its prey and, making a powerful flap of its wings, abruptly breaks away from the water. The osprey holds the fish tightly with the help of special spikes on its paws. At the same time, she can easily carry prey almost equal to her in mass. The victim can weigh from 0.1 to 2 kg. The sea eagle holds the fish in front with one paw, and in the back with the other.
The feathers of representatives of this species are water-repellent, so after immersion in water the bird retains the ability to fly. Sometimes the predator dives quite deep. In this case, the Osprey bird, moving its wings, shakes off excess water and takes off.
However, hunting for feathered predators is not without known risks. If the prey is too strong and massive, the feathered hunter may dive deep into the water. He cannot free himself from prey: the grip of his claws is almost dead. At the same time, the sea eagle chokes in the water and drowns.
Sometimes ospreys diversify their diet with small rodents and reptiles. In the tropics, the predator sometimes indulges itself even with small crocodiles. Important condition: Ospreys do not eat carrion. Food must be fresh. The source of water for them is the same fresh fish.
Where did the name come from
So why was the bird named osprey? Translated from the Kolyma language, the word “osprey” means “fisherman” or “aquatic hunter”. By diving into the water and sinking their claws into their prey, sea eagles obtain food for themselves. Representatives of this species form a separate family, consisting of one biospecies, in the order Accipitridae.
Why sea eagles are rare
Unfortunately, these interesting and very beautiful birds rarely found in the animal world. Why did the osprey become rare bird? Their numbers decreased especially dramatically by the beginning of the last century, due to the uncontrolled destruction of birds of prey. The widespread shooting was motivated by the fact that birds of prey cause damage to agriculture and hunting grounds. It was only in 1964 that the destruction of raptors was prohibited in Russia. However, the number of ospreys could not be restored. One of the reasons is the use of organochlorine pesticides, which were ingested by predators with fish.
Only in last years The number of birds of this species has increased slightly. As before, the limiting factors are:
- Uncontrolled shooting.
- Destruction of nests.
- Declining fish stocks.
- Pollution of water bodies, reduction of their transparency. Of considerable importance is the ingress of heavy metal salts and plant protection products into water bodies, which have a detrimental effect on fish.
Osprey - Bird of the Year 2018
There is a good tradition in Russia: every year is celebrated under the sign of some protected bird. The osprey became such a favorite of 2018. A beautiful and strong predator is the embodiment of the greatness of nature. Choosing the Osprey as the 2018 Bird of the Year is a way to draw people's attention to this perfect creation of nature. The same applies to other rare inhabitants of our planet.
And below is a fascinating video about how the Osprey bird hunts - be sure to watch!
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