This audio story is brought to you by , a partner of the 爆料公社, and is a special excerpt from the recently released anthology . We'll be sharing selections from the book all April. And remember, you can catch BirdNote episodes daily on public radio stations nationwide.
Transcript:
To the untrained eye, the Osprey looks just like a bird of prey should. Talons, hooked beak, vivid yellow eyes. But it also has some characteristics that make it truly unique among raptors. Especially when catching fish.
In common with most raptors, it has four long toes鈥攖hree in front and one in back. As the bird reaches for a fish, its outer front toe swivels to the rear, giving it two grasping talons front and back. And those toes are lined with short, stiff spikes for extra grip. The Osprey鈥檚 nostrils shut tight as it hits the water. Then as it ascends, it shakes itself off, shedding water easily thanks to its oily feathers. In fact, it鈥檚 the only raptor that has this oily plumage. Its long, slender, arched wings help the Osprey get clear of the water too, as it takes flight with the fish鈥檚 head facing the front鈥攖he most aerodynamically efficient position.
This Osprey we see today鈥攋ust one species worldwide鈥攈as changed little since tens of millions of years ago, when its ancestors diverged onto a unique evolutionary track, distinct from eagles and hawks. Suggesting that over this period, it has remained particularly well suited to its environment. Thanks to these adaptations.
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Credits:
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Osprey [106651] recorded by R. Little.
BirdNote鈥檚 theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Dominic Black
Written by Bob Sundstrom
漏 2016 Tune In to Nature.org March 2016
BirdNote: Chirps, Quirks, and Stories of 100 Birds from the Popular Radio Show, edited by Ellen Blackstone, illustrations by Emily Poole, Sasquatch Books, 205 pages, $22.95. Buy it online at .