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      The Osprey on Weytus - A case study
           W. Hauser, 2106 edition

 The Osprey, scientific name Pandion Haliataes,
 is a large falconiforme which can be found on
 every continent of Earth except Antarctica.

 The birds are brown, with white head and breast
 feathers.  The face is white, except for a dark
 patch over the eyes.  The beak is black.

 Ospreys feed almost exclusively on fish, mainly
 salmon or trout about 25cm long, and the bird
 has special adaptations for fishing.
 The feathers are waterproofed and the bird can
 shake them dry like a dog, even during flight.

 The blue-grey feet have four toes, one of which
 is opposable.  They all have spicules to help
 keep hold of a slippery fish, and are finished
 with long, sharp talons that can snap shut
 completely in one fiftieth of a second.
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 Ospreys were introduced into Weytus in 2091
 using chicks and sub-adults from Norway and
 Canada.  The oceans and some rivers had been
 seeded with Earth
 fish-stocks about nine years
 previously, and when it was deemed there was
 enough food to support the birds in the wild
 the project was approved.

 Initially the birds were carefully monitored by
 the wildlife survey teams on Weytus, but after
 five years of success, with the colony numbers
 rising dramatically, the monitoring became
 less frequent.

 After ten years, the breeding rate slowed,
 apparently in response to the large local
 population, since they tend to cluster,
 spreading out only slowly.

 As of this writing, fifteen years have elapsed,
 and the population has stabilised.  The survey
 team intends to begin translocating birds from
 the initial colony site to other locations on
 the planet.
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