Brahminy Kites
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The Brahminy Kite, Haliastur indus, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers.
Known as elang bondol in Indonesia, the Brahminy Kite is the official mascot of Jakarta.
Distribution / Range
This kite is a familiar sight in the skies of India and southeast Asia and as far south as New South Wales, Australia, through which region it is widespread and resident.
It has a typical kite flight, with wings angled, but its tail is rounded unlike the Milvus species, Red Kite and Black Kite, which have forked tails.
It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Description
The Brahminy Kite is an attractive bird, with chestnut plumage except for the white head and breast and black wing tips.
The juveniles are browner, but can be distinguished from both the resident and migratory races of Black Kite in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings and rounded tail. (Please refer to the photo below in the "Photo Gallery."
Nesting / Breeding
The breeding season is from December to April. This species nests in trees, often close to water. They show considerable site fidelity nesting in the same area year after year. In some rare instances they have been seen to nest on the ground under trees.
Diet / Feeding
It is mainly a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey such as hares and bats.
Behavior
Young birds may indulge in play behaviour, dropping leaves and attempting to catch them in the air (please refer to photo below0.
When fishing over water, they may sometimes land in the water but manage to swim and take off without much trouble.
They roost communally on large and isolated trees and as many as 600 have been seen at just one location.
They may mob larger raptors such as the Aquila eagles. In some incidents where Brahminy Kites mobbed Steppe Eagles (Aquila rapax), they were attacked and injured or killed.
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