Osprey

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) — also called fish eagle, 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 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.

The 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.

As its other common names suggest, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognized, one of which has recently been given full species status (see below). Despite its propensity to nest near water, the osprey is not classed as a sea eagle.

Osprey (disambiguation)

Osprey may refer to:

Ospreys, medium-large fish-eating birds of prey in the genus Pandion.

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Osprey Osprey 2

The Osprey Osprey 2, also known as the Pereira Osprey 2 after its designer, is an amphibious sport aircraft designed for homebuilding. Plans have been sold since the mid-1970s. George Pereira designed the Osprey 2 to address the two most frequent criticisms of his Osprey I aircraft: its lack of a passenger seat and its inability to operate from dry land. An exercise that began as a series of modifications to the original design in January 1972 eventually turned into a complete redesign of the aircraft, with the resulting Osprey 2 flying in April 1973.

Design and development

Like the original Osprey, the Osprey 2 is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a flying boat hull and a single engine mounted pusher-fashion in a nacelle mounted above the fuselage on struts. A passenger seat is provided side-by-side with the pilot and the cabin is fully enclosed. Retractable tricycle undercarriage is provided for land operations, the main units of which fold into the undersides of the wings. Construction throughout is of wood and skinned in plywood. Some of the hull contours are formed with polyurethane foam covered in fiberglass.