P. haliaetus Skull Replica or Osprey Bird Skull Replica measures 3.3 inches. Osprey Bird Skull Replica model is museum quality polyurethane resin cast made in the USA. 2-part skull
The Osprey also called 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 71 in. across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.
The P. haliaetus or 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.
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 nests 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.
Nests as wide as 2 meters and weighing about 298 lb., large nests on utility poles may be fire hazards and have caused power outages.
The P. haliaetus or Osprey is piscivorous, with fish making up 99% of its diet. It typically takes live fish weighing 5.3–10.6 oz. and about 9.8–13.8 in. in length, but virtually any type of fish from 1.8 oz. to 4.4 lb. can be taken. Even larger northern pike has been taken in Russia. The species rarely scavenges dead or dying fish.
P. haliaetus or Ospreys have a vision that is well adapted to detecting underwater objects from the air. Prey is first sighted when the osprey is 33–131 feet above the water, after which the bird hovers momentarily and then plunges feet first into the water.
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.
Occasionally, the P. haliaetus or Osprey may prey on rodents, rabbits, hares, other mammals, snakes, turtles, frogs, birds, salamanders, conchs, and crustaceans.
Reports of ospreys feeding on carrion are rare. They have been observed eating dead white-tailed deer and Virginia opossums.
