A magnificent Osprey cleans its feathers in the sun and preens on a dead tree overlooking a marsh. Preening takes on a whole new meaning with those amazingly sharp talons! <br />The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) — also called fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk — is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 24 in in length and 6 feet across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts. <br /> <br />The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant. <br /> <br />As its other common names suggest, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialized physical characteristics and exhibits unique behavior to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. <br />The osprey is unusual in that it is a single living species that occurs nearly worldwide. Even the few subspecies are not unequivocally separable. <br /> <br />New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: <br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding <br /> <br />More info at: http://screech-owls.blogspot.com/
