Listen to the osprey
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the osprey
The osprey is a bird in the family Pandionidae (order Accipitriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 160 cm and weigh around 1.4 kg.
What does the osprey sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
From Wikipedia
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus; ), historically known as 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 a wingspan of 180 cm (71 in). It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.
The osprey is distributed on all continents except Antarctica, but in South America, it occurs only as a nonbreeding migrant. It lives in a wide variety of habitats and nests in locations near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It has specialised physical characteristics and unique behaviour in hunting its prey, which consists almost exclusively of fish.
Frequently asked questions
What does an osprey sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the osprey on this page. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the osprey endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the osprey as “least concern”.
What family does the osprey belong to?
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) belongs to the family Pandionidae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources & credits
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) (W1CDR0001434 BD8) – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Osprey – US National Park Service by NPS – Public domain (NPS) · NPS
- Wikidata Q25332 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Osprey – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by El Golli Mohamed – CC BY-SA 4.0