osprey

American  

[os-pree] / ˈɒs pri /

noun

plural

ospreys

1. Also called fish hawk.  a large hawk, Pandion haliaetus, that feeds on fish.

2. a plume for trimming hats.

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osprey British  

/ ˈɒsprɪ, -preɪ /

noun

1. Often called (US and Canadian): fish hawk.  a large broad-winged fish-eating diurnal bird of prey, Pandion haliaetus, with a dark back and whitish head and underparts: family Pandioridae

2. any of the feathers of various other birds, used esp as trimming for hats

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Etymology

Origin of osprey

1425–75; late Middle English ospray ( e ) ≪ Latin ossifraga ossifrage; compare Middle French orfraie, offraie, Old French ospres

Example Sentences

With him was Geoffrey McQuilkin, the Mono Lake Committee’s executive director, who held binoculars as he pointed out ospreys, American avocets, Wilson’s phalaropes and other birds.

From Los Angeles Times

Gilestone Farm in Powys was originally bought for £4.75m but plans to help Green Man festival's owners were abandoned when ospreys started nesting there.

From BBC

Its native grasses and forested hillsides host nesting ospreys and more than 200 other bird species, along with mule deer, wild turkeys, coyotes and the rare pipevine swallowtail butterfly.

From Los Angeles Times

The proposed rule to delist the bald eagle as endangered includes the osprey, which was considered threatened, as well.

From Seattle Times

But they are out there, along with the Cooper’s hawks and peregrine falcons and ospreys and eagles.

From Seattle Times