The Osprey

A highly readable Poyser monograph on one of the most widespread raptors.

The Osprey is a large, fish-eating bird of prey. Distinctively marked in deep brown and white, with a piercing yellow eye and powerful hooked bill, the Osprey snatches its prey in spectacular swoops above wetlands around the world - is it one of the most widespread of all birds. Persecuted mercilessly in Britain, it was almost completely eradicated by the early twentieth century. However, it has made a much-celebrated comeback, returning initially to the famous Loch Garten in Scotland in the 1950s. The recovery of the bird has been slow, but reintroduction programmes at Rutland Water and Poole Harbour have been successful, and this remarkable raptor is now an increasingly common sight in our skies.

This Poyser monograph is dedicated to this fine species and includes more than 150 colour photographs. The Osprey looks at the distribution, foraging ecology, breeding behaviour and population dynamics of this spectacular bird, with emphasis placed on conservation efforts in Britain, as well as elsewhere in Europe and North America and in the species’ African wintering grounds. It also tells the story of Osprey migration and the remarkable journeys of individual birds across oceans and deserts, the study of which has been greatly aided by advances in satellite tracking technology.