Osprey Facts for Kids
Pandion haliaetus · PAN-dee-on hal-ee-AY-eh-tus
A fish-eating bird of prey that lives near water around the world.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 2.6 to 4.4 lb1.2 to 2 kg1
- 📏 22 to 23 in55 to 58 cm1 long
- 🎂 25 years25 years1
- 🍽️ fish
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
An osprey is a big bird of prey that eats fish. It lives near water. You can see ospreys in many parts of the world.
Ospreys live almost everywhere in the world, near shallow water with plenty of fish. Almost all of their food is fish.
The osprey is a bird of prey found around the world, wherever there is shallow water with plenty of fish. It eats almost only fish, nearly every meal. A big osprey has a wingspan wider than a grown-up is tall. The oldest known osprey in North America lived to at least twenty-five years.
How big is a osprey?
Osprey in numbers
| Length | 22 to 23 in55 to 58 cm1 |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 2.6 to 4.4 lb1.2 to 2 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 25 years25 years1at least; the oldest known male in North America |
| What it eats | almost only fish |
| Where it lives | shallow water with plenty of fish, in many parts of the world |
| What kind | Birds |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- An osprey eats almost only fish.
- It lives near water almost everywhere in the world.
- Its wings are wider than a grown-up is tall.
Compare the osprey
Friends and neighbours
Bald eagle
Sockeye salmon
MallardThree questions
Books about the osprey, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the osprey for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Pandion haliaetus (osprey), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Osprey (Q25332), checked 30 October 2026.