The Fish Hawk's Dive: teacher key

Ospreys, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. Ospreys eat almost nothing but fish. They hunt by diving, build large stick nests, and migrate south for the winter, and their numbers in North America largely rebounded after DDT was banned.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. About how often does a dive end with a fish caught?
   • On a quarter or more of dives (answer)
   • On almost no dives
   • On every single dive
2. Why is the osprey placed in its own family?
   • Because it lives on one continent
   • Because it eats mice
   • Because of its bones, muscles and feather tracts (answer)
3. What kept water from entering an osprey's nostrils?
   • A thick bill
   • Dense oily plumage and efficient nasal valves (answer)
   • A closed third eyelid
4. How low did the Chesapeake Bay osprey population fall in the early 1970s?
   • About 1,450 pairs (answer)
   • About 14 pairs
   • About 145,000 pairs
5. Why do the eggs hatch in the order they were laid?
   • The eggs are all laid in one day
   • The largest egg is laid first
   • Incubation starts when the first egg is laid (answer)
6. How long can nonstop ocean flights by tagged ospreys last?
   • About 5 hours
   • More than 50 hours (answer)
   • About 5 minutes