Brahminy Kite Bird:

The Brahminy Kite is a bird of prey native to South East Asia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Australia. It is known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle. The Brahminy Kite belongs to the family Accipitridae and is usually about medium-sized in appearance.

The coloring of the Brahminy Kite tends to be rather distinctive and is usually contrasting – the bird has chestnut colored feathers and a stark white colored head. This white coloring extends right down to the breast and the wing tips tend to be black. Young Brahminy Kites have a much deeper coloring from the adults. It is simple enough to differentiate these birds from resident and migratory Black Kite in Asia by keeping in the mind that the Brahminy kite has smaller wings accompanied by a generally paler appearance. The Brahminy Kite has a typical kite flight pattern – it flies with its wings angled. However, its tail is usually rounded which is completely dissimilar to the Red Kite or the Black Kite because these birds have forked tails.

A Brahminy Kite usually makes its nest from small twigs and it sometimes uses smaller branches and sticks as well. The nest is constructed with a bowl inside and the kite usually makes a lining of leaves inside the bowl. The Brahminy Kite tends to nest in the same area repeatedly. It is possible for them to nest in the same area for years at stretch. It is also possible for them to make their nests under a tree instead of in the branches. They lay their eggs in clutches of two and the eggs are usually dull white or bluish-white and oval in appearance.

The Brahminy Kite is listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN List of Threatened Species. But it must be noted that the population of Brahminy Kites is diminishing in some parts of South East Asia like Java. The Brahminy kite’s diet consists mainly of scavenging on dead fish and crabs that are found in marshlands and mangroves. Brahminy kites have also been known to hunt smaller prey including hares and bats. If Brahminy kites are fishing in water, it is possible that they could land in the water. However, they can manage to swim and fly again without much strain. Social as far as their roosting habits are concerned, Brahminy kites usually select very isolated trees capable of holding a number of birds – there have been reports of as many as 600 being spotted at a single location.