Ospreys and headless fish

[Axel Hildebrandt]

In a recent thread there was an osprey delivering a headless fish to his offspring: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16423

I was wondering why the parent always seems to eat the head. Jim had some reasonable answers. Are there any other possibilities? Would the weight of the fish play a role? Any thoughts?

[Beth Goffe]

I'm not sure about the mechanics of these birds' fishing techniques. Do they typically grab the fish from behind? If that's the case, perhaps they start tearing at the fish while still on the fly and, because the head is closest to the birds' beak, that's what gets eaten first. Just a guess...

[Fabs Forns]

I've seen headless fish a number of times. Somehow, though, I felt it got thrown away?

[Linda Dulak]

I've seen many males here and in Florida sit in a tree close to the nest and eat the head from the fish. Then they deliver the rest of the fish to the nest -- not sure why. It's not eaten while in flight.

FWIW, the osprey will always turn the fish so that it is flying with the fish head forward while in flight. Aerodynamically, it seems to work out better that way and the osprey has a better hold on the forward part of the fish. If caught in the opposite direction, it will turn the fish while in flight.

Linda