PLEASE! If you see any mistakes, I'm 100% sure that I have wrongly identified some birds.
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page
Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), also known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They are found mainly on the coast and in inland wetlands where they feed on dead fish and other prey. Adults have a reddish brown plumage and a contrasting white head and breast which makes them easy to distinguish from other birds of prey.

Distribution and status
This kite is a familiar sight in the skies of Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and southeast Asia and as far south as New South Wales, Australia, through which region it is widespread and resident. They perform seasonal movements associated with rainfall in some parts of their range.

They are mainly seen in the plains, but can sometimes occur above 5000 feet in the Himalayas.

It is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, the species is on the decline in some parts such as Java.

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง

Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Description
The brahminy kite is distinctive and contrastingly coloured, 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 kites in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings, and rounded tail. The pale patch on the underwing carpal region is of a squarish shape and separated from Buteo buzzards.

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Beak of the Brahminy kite showing the characteristic circular nostril
By James A Murray - James A Murray 1888. Avifauna of British India. Vol. 1, Public Domain, Link

The Brahminy Kite is about the same size as the Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and 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 two genera are, however, very close.

The call is a mewing keeyew.

Listen to the Brahminy Kite

Remarks from the Recordist

Adult bird calling from a tree about 15 ft high

www.xeno-canto.org



Taxonomy
The brahminy kite was described by French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 as l'Aigle Pondicery, and given the Latin binomial Aquila pondiceriana. Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert first used the name Falco indus in 1783.

Four subspecies are recognized:

• H. i. indus (Boddaert, 1783) is found in South Asia.

• H. i. flavirostris Condon & Amadon, 1954 is found in the Solomon Islands.

• H. i. girrenera (Vieillot, 1822) is found in New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and Australia.

• H. i. intermedius Blyth, 1865 is found in the Malay Peninsula and into the islands of the Sundas, Sulawesi, and the Philippines.

Behaviour
The breeding season in South Asia is from December to April. In southern and eastern Australia, it is August to October, and April to June in the north and west. The nests are constructed of small branches and sticks with a bowl inside and lined with leaves, and are located in various trees, often mangroves.

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. A clutch of two dull-white or bluish-white oval eggs measuring 52 x 41 mm is laid. Both parents take part in nest building and feeding, but likely only the female incubates. The incubation period is about 26 to 27 days.

It is primarily a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey such as hares and bats. They may also indulge in kleptoparasitism and attempt to steal prey from other birds.

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Anting behaviour seen by Brahminy Kite in Lalbagh Botanical Garden Bangalore
Picture by Forestowlet - Own work - CC BY-SA 4.0

Anting

noun [MASS NOUN]  Ornithology behaviour seen in some birds, in which the bird either picks up ants and rubs them on the feathers or stands with the wings spread and allows the ants to crawl over it. It is probable that the ants' secretions help to keep the feathers in good condition.


Brahminy kites have even been recorded taking advantage of Irrawaddy dolphins herding fish to the surface, in the Mekong River. A rare instance of a bird feeding on honey at the hive of Apis florea has been recorded.

Young birds may indulge in play behaviour, dropping leaves and attempting to catch them in the air. 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 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.

A number of ectoparasitic bird lice in the genera Kurodaia, Colpocephalum, and Degeeriella have been reported.

In culture
Known as elang bondol in Indonesia, the brahminy kite is the official mascot of Jakarta. In Hinduism, it is considered as the contemporary representation of Garuda, the sacred bird of Vishnu. In Malaysia, the island of Langkawi is named after the bird (kawi denoting an ochre-like stone used to decorate pottery, and a reference to the bird's primary plumage colour).

A fable from central Bougainville Island relates how a mother left her baby under a banana tree while gardening, and the baby floated into the sky crying and transformed into Kaa'nang, the brahminy kite, its necklace becoming the bird's feathers.

For the Ibans of the Upper Rajang, Sarawak, Borneo, a brahminy kite is believed to be the manifestation of Singalang Burung when he comes down to earth. Singalang Burung is the ultimate deity of incomparable qualities and superior abilities in every dimension. He is also known as the god of war.

Conservation status
Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net


Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 8 February 2016
Location: Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Thank's to Nick Upton at www.thaibirding.com for HOT birding tip. His web page is a ONE STOP for everything you need for bird watching in Thailand. There are reviews of the birding sites with maps and information.

And if you like Nick Upton's web page you will also like www.norththailandbirding.com I have used this page together with Nick Upton's page when planning my birding tours. Excellent reviews and information about the birding sites.

I also got the Thai names of the birds from www.norththailandbirding.com. There is a bird check list with all the names in English and Thai. And of course also the Scientific Name. Down load the birdlist in Microsoft Excel format at www.norththailandbirding.com Or down load the Excel sheet by clicking HERE

PLEASE! As I'm a first time birdwatcher bear in mind that some of the bird can be wrongly named. I have bought book and I confirm on the internet to get the right identity on the birds I take pictures off. But there can still be mistakes.


Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
8 February 2016 - Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, Bangkok

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Juvenile Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 24 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 25 August 2018 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง - 9 June 2019 - Chanthaburi

Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, เหยี่ยวแดง
Brahminy kite / เหยี่ยวแดง
14 October 2019 - Moo Ban Pramong whale watching



PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook



       
                  



                                       
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