Pandion 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 Pandion 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. As wide as 2 meters and weighing about 298 lb., large nests on utility poles may be fire hazards and have caused power outages.
Ospreys usually mate for life. Rarely, polyandry has been recorded. 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.
In spring the pair begins a five-month period of partnership to raise their young. The female lays two to four 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 2.4 in × 1.8 in. and weigh about 2.3 oz. The eggs are incubated for about 35 to 43 days to hatching. The newly hatched chicks weigh only 1.8–2.1 oz., but fledge in 8 to 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.
When food is scarce, the first chicks to hatch are most likely to survive. The typical lifespan is 7 to 10 years, though rarely individuals can grow to as old as 20 to 25 years.
The Pandion 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.
Pandion 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. Pandion haliaetus or Ospreys will typically eat on a nearby perch but have also been known to carry fish for longer distances.
Occasionally, the Pandion 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.
