#FLORIDA BIRDS OF PREY FULL#

However, this term referred to the bearded vulture. The origins of osprey are obscure the word itself was first recorded around 1460, derived via the Anglo-French ospriet and the Medieval Latin avis prede 'bird of prey,' from the Latin avis praedae though the Oxford English Dictionary notes a connection with the Latin ossifraga or 'bone breaker' of Pliny the Elder. The species name haliaetus ( Latin: haliaeetus) comes from Greek ἁλιάετος haliáetos 'sea-eagle' (also ἁλιαίετος haliaietos) from the combining form ἁλι- hali- of ἅλς hals 'sea' and ἀετός aetos, 'eagle'. The genus name Pandion derives from Pandíōn Πανδίων, the mythical Greek king of Athens and grandfather of Theseus, Pandion II. Another Pandionidae claw fossil was recovered from Early Oligocene deposits in the Mainz basin, Germany, and was described in 2006 by Gerald Mayr. However, they are not complete enough to assign to a specific genus. The oldest recognized family Pandionidae fossils have been recovered from the Oligocene age Jebel Qatrani Formation, of Faiyum, Egypt. A number of claw fossils have been recovered from Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments in Florida and South Carolina. Becker from fossils found in Florida and dating to the latest Clarendonian and possibly representing a separate lineage from that of P. The second named species Pandion lovensis, was described in 1985 by Jonathan J. Warter in 1976 from fossils of Middle Miocene, Barstovian age, found in marine deposits in the southern part of California. Pandion homalopteron was named by Stuart L. To date there have been two extinct species named from the fossil record.

#FLORIDA BIRDS OF PREY FULL#

Some authorities have assigned it full species status as Pandion cristatus, known as the eastern osprey. The smallest and most distinctive subspecies, also non-migratory. haliaetus cristatus – ( Vieillot, 1816): coastline and some large rivers of Australia and Tasmania. Its scientific name commemorates American ornithologist Robert Ridgway. This form has a very pale head and breast compared with nominate haliaetus, with only a weak eye mask. haliaetus ridgwayi – Maynard, 1887: Caribbean islands. This form is larger, darker bodied and has a paler breast than the type of the first description. haliaetus carolinensis – ( Gmelin, 1788): mainland Americas. Pandion haliaetus haliaetus – ( Linnaeus, 1758): the nominate subspecies, occurring in the Palearctic realm.There are four generally recognised subspecies, although differences are small, and ITIS lists only the first three. Even the few subspecies are not unequivocally separable. The osprey is unusual in that it is a single living species that occurs nearly worldwide. Ĭalifornian bird with scraps of fish on its beak The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy has placed it together with the other diurnal raptors in a greatly enlarged Ciconiiformes, but this results in an unnatural paraphyletic classification. Other schemes place it alongside the hawks and eagles in the family Accipitridae.

It has always presented something of a riddle to taxonomists, but here it is treated as the sole living member of the family Pandionidae, and the family listed in its traditional place as part of the order Accipitriformes. The genus Pandion was described by the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. The genus, Pandion, is the sole member of the family Pandionidae, and used to contain only one species, the osprey ( P.

The osprey was described by Carl Linnaeus under the name Falco haliaeetus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its unique characteristics classify it in its own taxonomic genus, Pandion, and family, Pandionidae. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and unique behaviour in hunting its prey. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.Īs its other common names suggest, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. The osprey ( Pandion haliaetus), / ˈ ɒ s p r i, - p r eɪ/, also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range.

Florida birds of prey