Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Pandion haliaetus
Águila pescadora, Osprey
Length 55-69 cm; wingspan 145-160 cm. Upperparts dark brown, under parts largely white; under wing mottled light and dark with a conspicuous black patch on the bend of the wing. Head is largely white with black mark through eye and down side of neck. Distinguished from Galapagos hawk by mainly white body and black mark on under wing (Harris 1974; Castro & Phillips 1996).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Accipitriformes
Family
Pandionidae
Genus
Pandion
Species
haliaetus
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Migrant
Distribution: Regular, in very low numbers (Lévêque et al. 1966). Occasionally an individual over-summers in Galapagos (Harris 1973). Sightings include records from Isabela, Fernandina, San Cristóbal, and Santa Cruz (Castro and Phillips 1996)
- Freile, J.F. Santander, T., Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G., Carrasco, L., Cisneros-Heredia, D., Guevara, E., Sánchez-Nivicela, M., Tinoco, B. (2019) Lista Roja de las aves del Ecuador Quito, Ecuador. 97 pp.
- Gifford, E.W. (1913) The birds of the Galápagos Islands, with observations on the birds of Cocos and Clipperton Islands (Columbiformes to Pelicaniformes). Expedition of the California Academy of Science, 1905 -1906. Part VIII. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, ser. 4, 2(1): 1-132.
- Harris, M.P. (1973) The Galápagos avifauna. Condor 75(3): 265-278.
- Hickin, N. (1979) Animal life of the Galapagos. Ferundune Books, Faringdon, U.K., 236 pp.
- Lévêque, R. Bowman, R.I. & Billeb, S.L.. (1966) Migrants in the Galapagos area. Condor 68(1): 81-101.
- Meyer De Schauensee, R.M. (1966) The Species of Birds of South America and their Distribution. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Pennsylvania.
- Swarth, H.S. (1931) The Avifauna of the Galapagos Islands. Occ. Pap. Calif. Acad. Sci. 18: 1-299.
- Wiedenfeld, D.A. (2006) Aves, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Check List 2006 2(2): 1-27.
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Pandion haliaetus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5136. Accessed 31 October 2026.