saultry little binch

unauthorized fucking thing!!!!!!

(warning: loud chirping throughout)

the first osprey is the father, the one that comes later is the mother.

ospreys are not eagles, they're ospreys

ospreys only eat fish, that's why they don't register this starling as possible food

the starling got home safely

the starling was not trying to eat the eggs, it was mostly curious and you can see it trying to hop under the osprey every time the osprey tries to sit down again--this is because the starling is still a baby and has the instinct to get under an adult for warmth, even though it mostly has its feathers. this scares the osprey because that is a Foreign Creature near its eggs.

at the end of the video you can see the ospreys starting to turn the eggs. birds do this so the yolk and/or embryo don't stick to the shell of the egg, which is bad for the egg's health.

The comment above is incorrect in identifying the sexes, however. The first osprey is the female. Her name is Iris, and she's currently the oldest known osprey alive at about 30 years old! She's named for the distinctive speckles in her irises.

iris: WHO THE HELL. WHAT THE HELL. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?

starling: i just wanted to see the cousins :D

iris: *freaking*

clark: honey! im hoome! oh-

iris: DO SOMETHING CLARK

clark: ah. welcome to our home. have you perhaps lost your way?

iris: NOT WHAT I MEANT

Ao3 as the quiet, unassuming book nerd that's secretly freaky as fuck