A Bird of Prey is a bird that has sharp talons, hooked beaks, and hunts for its food. It is on top of the food chain. Birds of prey include many interesting birds but I think that the most interesting bird of prey is the Osprey. Osprey's have many cool things about them. In the following paragraphs, I will tell you many awesome facts. When the winter comes, the osprey migrates to their regular habitat. When they migrate, they look for land near coastal areas lakes and rivers because they like the water. Osprey enjoy water because that is how they get their food.

 

They can dive from 5m to 7m deep in the water to catch fish. Osprey usually feed on fish and other sea animals. You can find this species of bird world wide near lakes and other bodies of water. When they are migrating they like higher trees, so that they can hide inside.

 

Ospreys are a medium bird but their wings are long and rounded. They are like this because it give them stability when they are flying close to the water searching for food. They have talons for catching and killing prey. The osprey can swing their front talon to the back talon for snagging fish out of the water. Their beaks are made of bone that resembles a a huge tooth. The osprey’s tail is like another wing, but used more for steering. Osprey have dark brown-black feathers.

 

Osprey belong to the scientific class called Aves. The class Aves includes all of the birds. Pandionidea is the family that osprey are in. Ospreys are the only bird in there family Pandioindae. The osprey reproduce when they are 3 to 4 years old. They reproduce sexually. Once the female bird has the eggs fertilized they stay in her stomach until seven weeks later. Once the eggs are laid they are ready to hatch after 2 to 3 days. While the mom is taking care of the chick, the male goes hunting for food. When the eggs hatch, the chicks eyes are already open. It takes seven weeks for the chicks to learn how to fly. After they learn how to fly they can’t fly long distance yet, so they just fly from tree top to tree top. It does not take them long to learn how to fly skillfully, and then they can hunt and live independently.

 

I learned a lot doing this project. I think that the most interesting thing is how they hunt. Osprey can dive 5m to 7m into water; that is awesome. In addition, I learned that they do not have any predators; they are the predator.

 

Author: Bradley S. 

Published: April 2006

 

Bibliography http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Raptors/birdclass.html http://cnx.rice.edu/content/m11894/latest http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/osprey/osprey.html Ospreys Really Wild Life of Birds of Prey By Wechsler Doug Published by Power Kids Press July 1, 2001

 

Photo Credit: This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted".