Ospreys live near water, such as rivers, lakes and the coast. They eat almost nothing but fish, and the osprey typically feeds on fish 4 to 12 inches long. As of November 2026, studies in North America have documented more than 80 different prey species of ospreys. An osprey flies over the water and hovers, and it watches for movement just beneath the surface of the water. Then it plunges toward the water to catch a fish. Ospreys hunt for fish from the air, flying up to about 40 meters above the water. Ospreys catch fish on about a quarter or more of their dives.

An osprey has rough pads on its feet that help it hold a slippery fish. The underside of its feet has rough, spiny pads called spicules, and an outer toe on each foot can swing around to join the rear toe. Its eyes have a very high density of receptors, which gives it much better visual acuity than people have. Adult ospreys have yellow eyes. An osprey has a see-through third eyelid that it closes when it dives into the water, and it can keep water out of its nostrils when it goes under water. Ospreys do not generally need to drink water, because fish flesh supplies enough water to meet their needs.

Widespread use of the pesticide DDT caused osprey numbers to fall in the mid-1900s. Osprey numbers in North America largely rebounded after DDT was banned. By the mid-1990s there were about 3,500 pairs of breeding ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay area.

Ospreys build large, bulky nests of sticks and branches, and they build large stick nests on telephone poles, channel markers and other structures. Osprey pairs use the same nest year after year, and they add new material each year, so the nest can become huge. A female osprey lays two to four eggs that are white with reddish-brown spots. Both the male and the female osprey incubate the eggs, and the eggs hatch after about 40 days of incubation. Young ospreys take their first flight at about 50 to 55 days old.

Most ospreys breed in the north and migrate south for the winter, and they migrate alone, not in flocks. Most ospreys that nest in the UK spend the winter in West Africa. Some ospreys do not migrate. Ospreys that live in the Caribbean mostly stay in one place all year.

Words to know

• incubate: keep eggs warm
• migrate: travel far