This suborder with a single family of two genera is distinguished from the suborder Accipitres by having the outer toe reversible; in addition to this the claws are very greatly curved and the under side of each claw is rounded instead of being grooved or concave as in the hawks and eagles.
Characters same as those given for the Suborder.
Bill slightly compressed; width of upper mandible at nostril more than its depth; primaries abruptly and deeply cut on inner web and exceeding secondaries by more than length of tarsus; back of tarsus covered with small scales like those in front.
Luzon (Worcester, Whitehead); Mindoro (Everett, McGregor, Whitehead); Palawan (Whitehead). Eastern hemisphere.
“Adult.—Above brown, most of the feathers with obsolete margins of paler brown, more distinct on the wing-coverts; primaries black, secondaries brown like the back, the primaries pale, but uniform whity brown below, the secondaries whitish on the inner web, with indistinct bars of ashy brown; tail almost uniform brown, tipped with whity brown, and shaded with ashy externally, the inner web obsoletely barred with ashy brown, a little more distinct below, where the interspaces are whitish; head brown, with white bases to the feathers; a broad white streak from behind the eye running down the sides of the neck; ear-coverts blackish brown; sides of neck uniform with the back; sides of face and entire under parts white, the breast varied with brown centers to the feathers of more or less extent, the chin and fore part of cheeks also slightly streaked with dark brown; axillars and a few of the flank-feathers also marked with rufous-brown like the breast; under wing-coverts buffy white, with dark brown centers, the outermost almost entirely brown, with whitish tips. Cere blue; bill black; feet blue; iris yellow. Length, 610; culmen, 44; wing, 503; tail, 241; tarsus, 61.
“Young.—Glossy chocolate-brown, all the feathers terminally margined with buffy white, these margins somewhat tinged with rufous, and broadest on the secondary quills and upper tail-coverts; crown of head black, with white or fulvous margins to the feathers, giving a distinctly streaked appearance; nape white, not streaked; from behind the eye a broad line of white runs down the side of the neck, slightly streaked with black; below this another line of black feathers, including the ear-coverts, is conterminous; sides of face and entire under parts pure white, somewhat tinged here and there with yellowish buff; under wing-coverts white, the outer ones strongly washed with tawny-buff, and crossed with broad bars of dark brown; primaries black, secondaries chocolate-brown like the back, and tipped in the same manner, all of them whitish at base of inner web, indistinctly barred with pale brown; tail-feathers alternately barred with dark sepia-brown and ashy brown, tipped with whitish, and having whitish shafts; the bars six in number, and more distinct on the inner web, which is buffy white.
“Nestling.—Covered with down of a sooty-brown color, except along the center of the back, along the carpal bend of the wing, on the breast and flanks, where it is dusky white; all the feathers of the back are dark brown, with a broad tip of ochraceous-buff; crown and ear-coverts blackish; eyebrow and throat white.
“Observation.—Ospreys seem to get whiter on the head with age; but the mottling on the breast is at present unintelligible to me. It appears to be strongly marked in all old birds; but the brown centers to the feathers, which give the bird its mottled appearance, are never exactly similar, there being a continued alteration in the pattern of the feather itself. At the same time two young birds, distinguished by the fulvous margins to the upper surface, have not a similar amount of brown on the breast; for in one it is almost entirely absent, while the other has very few markings indeed. The tail becomes more uniform brown with age, so that a strongly barred tail is a sure sign of immaturity.” (Sharpe.)
Balabac (Everett); Luzon (Worcester); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Palawan (White). Australia and Austro-Malayan Islands.
“Similar to P. haliætus, but very much smaller; cere bluish lead-color; bill black; feet pale bluish white; iris primrose-yellow in some, bright orange in others. Length, 508; wing, 414. A specimen killed by Mr. Wallace in New Guinea had the wing 432 long.” (Sharpe.)
“Adult.—Upper surface of body, wings, and tail, glossy brown, the feathers mesially shaded with a darker tint, many of the feathers of the interscapular region, back, scapulars, and shoulders margined with white; primaries blackish brown, black at the tip past the notch, the inner web becoming white on the margin toward the base, some showing remains of brown bars; a few of the inner primaries, some of the adjacent secondaries and wing-coverts, narrowly margined with buffy white; under surface of the wings white, the outer series of the under coverts blotched with brown; feathers along the outer margin of the wing from elbow to base of primaries, dark brown margined with white, under surface of the secondaries and of the primaries past the notch ashy brown, the basal marginal portion of the inner webs white, barred down the center portion with brown; head, throat, and back of the neck white, a few feathers on the nape having a streak of blackish brown down the center; lores blackish lead-color; ear-coverts blackish brown, which color extends on to the sides of the neck, where the feathers are brown margined with white; chest, breast, and lower part of hind neck white, much mottled with brown on the tips of the feathers, and occasionally centered with a blackish stripe; the remainder of the under surface, thighs, and tail-coverts white; tail above brown, feathers narrowly margined at the tips with white, the inner webs of a lighter brown, all except the two center quills broadly margined and toothed with white toward the base; under surface of tail ashy white, tips of the feathers ashy margined with white. Bill black; legs and feet lead-blue; iris yellow. Length, 760; wing, 508; tail, 228; tarsus, 63; bill, 43;24 from nostril, 30; culmen, 49.
“Observation.—In some specimens, apparently fully adult, the whole of breast, chest, and sides of the neck are strongly mottled with brown, and the feathers centered with a blackish stripe; the under wing-coverts are barred with brown; the scapulars, upper wing-coverts, and quills scarcely if at all margined with white; in others the whole of the head and neck, except the ear-coverts and sides of the neck immediately behind them, is white, without any brown markings, and the dull brown of the chest takes no definite form, but is for the most part darkest on the center of the feathers.” (North.)
Bill decidedly compressed, width of upper mandible at nostril less than its depth; primaries obliquely and slightly cut on inner web and exceeding secondaries by less than tarsus; back of tarsus smooth with plate divisions obsolete.
Basilan (Bourns & Worcester); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Celestino); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Keay); Samar (Whitehead). Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Burmese provinces, Greater Sunda Islands, Celebes, Ceylon.
“Adult male.—Above brown, paler on the interscapulary region and darker on the wings, primaries blackish; under surface of wing leaden brown, with a whitish spot at base of primaries; tail white, with a broad terminal bar of brown; entire head and neck all round clear ashy gray; breast brown, a little lighter than the back; belly, vent, thighs, lower flanks, and under tail-coverts pure white; under wing-coverts uniform ashy brown. Cere and bill blackish; feet dirty yellowish white; iris brown. Length, 660; culmen, 58; wing, 457; tail, 254; tarsus, 95.
“Adult female.—Similar to the male but larger. Length, 737; wing, 518; tarsus, 99.
“Young.—Above brown, glossed with chocolate, most of the feathers of the upper surface with paler brown margins; feathers of the head and hind neck mesially streaked with fulvous; sides of face a little paler than the head, but streaked in the same manner; under surface of body pale brown, inclining to rufous, and longitudinally streaked with whitish down the center; thighs white, much mottled with rufous-brown; lower abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts pure white; under wing-coverts pale brown, plainly streaked with white, the greater series almost entirely white, with a few brown markings; quills brown, white at base of inner web, the white extending further on secondaries; which have ashy brown cross-bars; tail fulvous brown, mottled all over with dark brown, except at the tip, which is uniform dark brown, forming a very distinct band.
“The bird above described, though full grown, is evidently immature as regards its plumage. The second stage is very similar to the adult, but is by no means so gray on the head and throat.” (Sharpe.)
“Less common than Haliæetus leucogaster but frequents the same localities. Quite abundant at Lake Naujan in Mindoro.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
A few individuals were seen near the Baco River in Mindoro and Celestino took a pair of young birds in northern Mindanao.