Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) - Wiki

Brahminy Kite
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[Photo] Picture By: Srihari Kulkarni, Bangalore, India Taken at Hebbal, bangalore, India

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.

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.

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.

This species nests in trees, often close to water. It feeds as a scavenger.

Four subspecies are recognized:

• Haliastur indus indus (Boddaert, 1783) is found in South Asia.
  
• Haliastur indus flavirostris Condon & Amadon, 1954 is found in the Solomon Islands.
  
• Haliastur indus girrenera (Vieillot, 1822) is found in New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and Australia.
  
• Haliastur indus intermedius Blyth, 1865 is found in the Malay Peninsula and into the islands of the Sundas, Sulawesi, and the Philippines.
  

Known as elang bondol in Indonesia, the Brahminy Kite is the official mascot of Jakarta. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_Kite

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