The Brahminy Kite - A beautiful raptor

It's raining here and there aren't many birds to be found as they were a couple of months ago. This medium sized raptor called the Brahminy kite also known as the red backed sea eagle in Australia is very common in the Indian sub continent. Unlike the other common raptor here known as the dark eagle the Brahminy kite is colorful and more attractive.

We often find them sitting on the top branches of trees looking down and keeping a vigil for any prey that might appear on the ground. Their sharp eyes and swift flight movements make them a great predator.

My first real encounter with a Brahminy kite was when I was six years old. We raised chicken at that time for food. These chicken were not our pets but our only source of animal protein (other than fish which we bought maybe twice a month). We always had a bunch of chicks which were hatched from the eggs the birds laid in the coup. It was my chore to look after the chicks when they were let out once a day from their tiny coup. On one such occasion as I took the chicks out for a stroll a Brahminy kite swooped down in front of me and snatched a little chick in its legs and flew away. I was stunned by it speed and awestruck by its grace. I have seen baby squirrels and rats being swooped upon and picked up by these birds. The grace of these birds in flight has never ceased to amaze me even now as a grown up.

The birds have reddish brown plumage covering their backs but their head and neck right up to their chest is covered in white feathers. It's almost like these birds are wearing a jacket over their white shirts. Their rounded tails which are comparatively shorter than the dark eagles here look quite shapely when in flight. The first image is a picture of this bird's grace and beauty even though the colors aren't so clearly visible in the bright morning ( almost noon) light when I shot this image.

I love watching these birds, they are so patient and can sit on a branch or a high perch and wait for their prey for hours. After the advent of the mobile phones these guys seem to prefer these steel contraption to trees. They build their nest right on top of the mobile signal towers. I saw this guy in the image in the park during one of my morning walks. He sat on a eucalyptus tree by the side of the lake waiting for a dead fish or some small animal to crawl out of its hiding place.

I stood under the tree for a long time grabbing as many pictures of the bird in different poses as I could. Since I don't have a birding lens I couldn't get sharper pictures of the bird at that height. Nonetheless, I don't give up easily I gave it my best shot.

Years ago I would climb the roof of our apartment building to get better pictures of these raptors. Now with my back problems I find it rather difficult to even carry my camera around so the thought of climbing up the roof is totally out of question. Regardless of how I feel physically I try to watch birds as much as I can. These are some of my profoundest moments with nature, a kind of deep bond, a love that I feel for the world we live in and all the creature we share our world with.

This image is eight years ( maybe older)old. I found this bird trapped in a kite string which had cut through its feet and wounded it quite badly. Kite flying is a common pastime among children here in summer. The strings that they use to fly these kites are strong twines coated with powdered glass and glue. This is to make their kite strings even stronger and to cut other kites of their competitors in the game of kite flying. Of course flying kites are banned now in the city limits but the law is not always strictly enforced.

This bird was lucky to found and saved. We ( my son and I) found him fallen on the ground when we went to play cricket. We took him to a near by animal rescue center and had the vet handle his wound. I was told that within ten days he was back in his natural environment flying around carefree and happy.

I am sure many of you have never seen this raptor before, as this bird is mainly found it the South East Asian and Australian regions only.

Thanks for the swinging by and for your support. I appreciate this greatly.