Tuesday, August 10, 2010

"Cartes maximum" from USA: The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle












Very skillful fish-catcher.
"The Osprey differs in several respects from other diurnal birds of prey. Its toes are of equal length, its tarsi are reticulate, and its talons are rounded, rather than grooved. The Osprey and Owls are the only raptors whose outer toe is reversible, allowing them to grasp their prey with two toes in front and two behind. This is particularly helpful when they grab slippery fish."
"The Osprey is unusual in that it is a single species that occurs nearly worldwide. Even the few subspecies are not unequivocally separable. There are four generally recognised subspecies, although differences are small, and ITIS only lists the first two.[3]





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey