Ospreys

The osprey, known scientifically as the genus Pandion, is the sole member of the family Pandionidae. They are birds of prey with a near-universal presence, commonly recognized as a single living species known as Pandion haliaetus, although some experts differ and acknowledge two existing species. Subspecies distinctions have been made, notably the Pandion haliaetus cristatus found along the coastlines and islands of Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Indonesian archipelago. In addition to the living species, there are two extinct ospreys known, namely Pandion homalopteron and Pandion lovensis, which were identified and named in 1976 and 1985, respectively.

Species Categories

Albatrosses Anhingas, Darters Asities Austral Storm Petrels Barn Owls Bee-eaters Bulbuls Buntings Buttonquail Caracaras, Falcons Chats, Old World Flycatchers Cisticolas & Allies Cormorants, Shags Coursers, Pratincoles Crab-plover Crows, Jays Cuckoo-roller Cuckoos Cuckooshrikes Drongos Ducks, Geese, Swans Figbirds, Orioles, Turnagra Finches, Euphonias Flamingos Flufftails Frigatebirds Gannets, Boobies Grassbirds & Allies Grebes Ground Rollers Guineafowl Gulls, Terns, Skimmers Hamerkop Herons, Bitterns Hoopoes Ibises, Spoonbills Indigobirds, Whydahs Jacanas Kingfishers Kites, Hawks, Eagles Larks Laughingthrushes & Allies Leaf Warblers & Allies Mesites Monarchs Nightjars Northern Storm Petrels Old World Parrots Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches Ospreys Owls Oystercatchers Painted-snipes Pelicans Penguins Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels Pheasants & Allies Pigeons, Doves Plovers Rails, Crakes & Coots Reed Warblers & Allies Rollers Sandgrouse Sandpipers, Snipes Shrikes Skuas Starlings, Rhabdornis Stilts, Avocets Stone-curlews, Thick-knees Storks Sunbirds Swallows, Martins Swifts Sylviid Babblers Tetrakas & Allies Thrushes Tropicbirds Vangas & Allies Wagtails, Pipits Waxbills, Munias & Allies Weavers, Widowbirds White-eyes

Birda Blog

A passionate photographer is outdoors, equipped with a top-notch camera for bird photography.

14 best cameras for bird photography

August 9, 2022

John White

A woman in a jacket birdwatching out in nature, looking at her phone and considering the best birding app.

11 of the best birdwatching apps in the UK

August 8, 2022

John White

A large flock of Red-necked Stints, a great bird to look for when learning how to start birdwatching.

How to start birdwatching – a helpful guide for beginners

January 18, 2022

John White

People looking at a sunset in a Top 10 Birdwatching Park in the US

The top 10 birdwatching parks in the USA

December 7, 2022

Sarah Cunningham

The Best US States For Birdwatching - map of USA with state names

The best US states for bird watching, a helpful illustrated guide

January 17, 2022

John White

Three people walking in nature in a highland, birdwatching and using one of the best free birdwatching apps

What are the best free birdwatching apps?

March 28, 2023

Will Hall

Children are outdoors, enthusiastically observing and admiring birds in their natural habitat.

12 of the best birdwatching apps in the USA

February 9, 2023

Sarah Cunningham

8x vs 10 x binoculars - person holding their pair in hand

Binoculars for birdwatching 8x vs 10x magnification

What Our Birders Say

Emma L

App got me interested in birding!

Super friendly community <3 This app got me interested in birding! It teaches me cool stuff and its super friendly, and fun :) The species guide is really developing my knowledge, and i love seeing cool new birds from round the world!

Louise L

Easy to use and accurate

Love this app. It is easy to use and accurate, Their backup communication is really good. I noted a missing species. All through the process, I was kept informed about the progress in correcting the information. I now have the corrected, updated version. 😁 Thanks!

D3Nature

Great app for learning Birds

I’ve been using the app for a couple of months and love it....Someone said it’s like a real life Pokémon Go for birds. They’re not far off! It’s something that the family can do that gets you out and about. Well worth downloading no matter your age.

Stewart W

Fantastic to be involved

Fantastic to be involved, great for mental health and gets you responding with the Challenges that are to takd part in.

Anonymous

The best bird logging app

Birda is honestly the best bird logging app I have seen. I love all the features it has from being able to do a session and log all the birds you see in one sitting, to being able to connect with other birders from all over the globe!

Trevarthen1

Birda fan

I really enjoy using Birda, all sightings are recorded and photos can be added. There are monthly challenges which help to get you out to record your sightings. The Birda community are great and are happy to help with unidentified bird sightings. Suitable for all ages and experience!

Talli A

My favourite app

As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁

Robred 2

Fun way to add to your birdwatching experience

I enjoy watching birds in my backyard, but this app helped me really pay attention while on vacation this summer. It was fun to add new birds to my bird watching app.

Abi.M

Awesome App

I really enjoy using this app! It is such a friendly community of bird-lovers who are happy to help if I need ID advice. It’s been great motivation to get outdoors and go birding more! 10/10 😍😍

Emcil24

A Friendly Place

I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.

As featured in