A large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings, it is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts, with a black eye patch and wings.

First recorded around 1460 and derived from the Anglo-French ospriet and the Medieval Latin avis prede "bird of prey," it tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply.