True or False: Ospreys Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

They are known as sea hawks because they eat fish and live near water. Ninety-nine percent of their diet is made up of fish. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica.

Answer: True

In the last couple of centuries some threats to ospreys have been egg collectors, hunters, and pesticides. The pesticides caused their eggs to be weak and break.

IUCN stands for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Answer: False

Its genus name really comes from the mythical Greek king Pandion of Athens who was turned into an eagle. They are in the genus Pandion and the species P. haliaetus. The osprey's scientific name is Pandion haliaetus. The word "osprey" was first recorded around 1460.

Answer: False

Ospreys prefer to nest in tall trees, outcrops, poles, or artificial platforms. If there aren't enough high places to nest they have been known to delay breeding. The nests are made out of sticks, driftwood and seaweed. They are pretty large.

Answer: True

The eggs are about 65 grams. They are incubated for about 5 weeks. The chicks weigh about 50 to 60 grams when they hatch and fledge in 8 to 10 weeks. The first chicks to hatch are more likely to survive.

Answer: False

Osprey's mating season is from April to July in northern Australia. In southern Australia it is form September to October and in southern Queensland it is from June to August. The breeding season depends on the latitude. Ospreys mate for life most of the time.

Answer: True

In Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" an osprey in used as a metaphor in Act 4 Scene 5 of the play. In "The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems" by Yeats an osprey is used as a representation of sorrow. Other writers who have written about ospreys include Pliny the Elder and Albertus Magnus, who both wrote legends about them.

Answer: False

Canadian and North American ospreys migrate to South America. European ones migrate to Africa for the winter. Australasian ospreys don't migrate. They fly mostly during the day when they migrate.

Answer: False

They actually have a dark mask across their eyes that also goes down their necks and the rest of the head is white. Their wings are brown on top and mostly white underneath. Their breasts are mostly white with streaks of brown. They have yellow to brown eyes, black bills, and white feet.

Answer: True

This helps them to grab prey with two toes in front and two in back. Some other differences in their talons from other raptors are that they have toes that are equal length and that their talons are rounded. Other raptors have grooved talons.