Bird Watching - Brahminy Kite

Brahminy Kite

A medium-sized raptor with a rounded tail unlike other kites. Adults are unmistakable with a white head and breast contrasting with otherwise brick brown plumage. Juveniles are a darker brownish-black with a paler head and prominent white patches under the wings. Males and females look alike, except females are often slightly larger in size.

Local Names : Sankar cheel (Hindi)

                     Sem parunthu / Krishna Parunthu (Tamil)

                     Garudan / Krishna parunthu (Malayalam)

Scientific Name : Haliastur indus

They are most commonly seen sailing on level wings along shorelines, mudflats, mangrove swamps and estuaries. They are also observed in inland wetlands, flying over forests and rice paddies, and along rivers.

Brahminy kites are known to be opportunistic scavengers that will eat just about anything, including food waste from boats and rubbish dumps, dead animals such as dead fish and crabs.

Immature birds have been observed in playful behavior, such as 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.

Brahminy pairs build untidy, compact nests using twigs, sticks, grass, seaweed, flotsam and other materials found in their habitat. The nest is typically situated close to water, often in a prominent fork of a tall tree. The average clutch consists of 1 - 3 dull white or bluish-white eggs, which are incubated for 26 - 35 days before hatching. Both parents share the incubation duties and the feeding of the young. 

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

beautyofbirds.com

Pictures:

Kerala, Bangalore

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Initially i was a little hesitant about posting this as i was not happy with the clarity of the pictures. But then i thought, will comeback and update the pictures as i get them later.. :) 

In Hinduism, Brahminy kite is considered as the contemporary representation of Garuda, the sacred bird of Vishnu.

The emblem of Jakarta (Indonesia) is Brahminy kite, even the airline is named Garuda airlines.

Bird Watching - Black Kite

Black Kite

A large brown hawk , distinguished from all similar birds by its angled wing and distinctive forked tail. Their dorsal coloration is mostly brown, which fades to a darker brown towards the tips of the wings and tail. The ventral color is mostly brown, but with a lighter brown to nearly rust color markings dispersed throughout. These markings are especially evident along the ventral body surface. The head of black kites is lighter in color.

Black kites have small, bead-like dark brown eyes and a large black, hook-shaped beak for tearing flesh and consuming their prey. The outer edge of their wings appears to be "fingered" (a space between each feather gives the appearance of fingers). In addition, this species is recognized for its yellow cere, the skin located on the top of the beak near the nostrils. Black kites are often called "fork-tailed kites" because of the distinct shape of their tails.

Local Names : Cheel (Hindi)

                     Chakky Parunth (Malayalam)

                     Paria Parandu (Tamil)

Scientific Name : Milvus migrans

Black kites typically live in social groups. During the breeding season, however, they can be solitary or live in smaller groups.

Black kites have broad, carnivorous diets and feed on many different animal species.They will steal eggs from other kites for food and scavenge dead carcasses left behind from other animals. Black kites also are known to hover over fires to catch insects. Their diet also includes a variety of fish, reptiles, amphibians and other small mammals and birds.

Nest is an untidy platform of twigs, iron wire, tow, rags and rubbish of every description, up in a large tree or on roof or cornice of a building. Both the male and female assist in the nest building process. Female black kites invest their time in incubating eggs, while males are responsible for providing food to the female and their offspring. Eggs are 2 or 4 , dirty pinkish white, lightly spotted and blotched with reddish brown. Incubation averages 32 days.

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

Wikipedia

animaldiversity.org

Pictures:

Kerala, Bangalore 

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Difference between Eagle and Kite

Eagle and Kite both are birds of prey. Although these birds portray some similarities, they are different from each other in terms of size, habitat, hunting style and type of prey.

An eagle is a bird of prey that is known for its larger size, powerful build, heavier head and a big beak. 

Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey that is known for its V-shaped tail. Typically, a kite has a small head, short beak, partly bare face and long narrow wings and tail.

Bird Watching - Large-billed Crow

Large-billed Crow

A glossy jet black crow with daggerlike bill with curved top. Entirely black with a variable amount of glossiness. sexes alike. It is very common and readily distinguished from the house crow, which has a grey neck. It is less gregarious and sociable than the House Crow, but will roost with other birds.

Local Names : Kala Kowwa (Hindi)

                     Andan Kakai / Karung kakai (Tamil)

                     Bali kakka / Tonnan kakka (Malayalam)

Scientific Name : Corvus macrorhynchos 

                          macrorhynchos (Ancient Greek for "large beak") 

Occurs in a wide range of habitats including woodlands, urban landscapes, agricultural fields, and open scrub forests.

Extremely versatile in its feeding,They feed on a wide range of items and will attempt to feed on anything appearing edible, alive or dead, plant or animal. Like house crows its omnivorus and highly destructive to eggs and chicks of other birds including domestic poultry, and to young of small mammals.

Nest and eggs like the House crow's ; latter slightly larger. both sexes shares parental duties. Nests frequently parasitized by koel. The nest is a platform of twigs, usually high up on a tree. The nest is built in a fork of a tree, and is a shallow cup of sticks, sometimes neat and well made, sometimes sketchy and ragged; it is lined with grass roots, wool, rags, vegetable fibre, and similar materials. Some nests have been found to be built partly or exclusively of wire

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

Wikipedia

Pictures:

Thoovampallil house, Chettikulangara, Kerala(2019)

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The two common species of crows in Kerala are the house crow and the Large-billed crow formerly known as jungle crow. The jungle crow is infrequent in central Kerala and more abundant in the Travancore and Malabar belts.

Bird Watching - Spot Billed Pelican

Spot Billed Pelican

A large squat waterbird, chiefly grey and greyish white with a brown nuchal crest. Short stout legs, large webbed feet and enormous heavy flattened bill, underhung throughout its length by an elastic bag of purpilish pink and is also spotted on the sides of the upper mandible. The tip of the bill (or nail) is yellow to orange. In breeding plumage, the skin at the base of the beak is dark and the orbital patch is pink.

Local Names : Hawaso (Hindi)

                      Kulakeda (Tamil)

                      Kotumpannom ( Malyalam)

Scientific Name : Pelecanus philippensis

The spot-billed pelican is a relatively small pelican but still a large bird.

The main habitat is in shallow lowland freshwaters. The spot-billed pelican is not migratory but are known to make local movements and are more widely distributed in the non-breeding season.

This species is a colonial breeder, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds. The nests are on low trees near wetlands and sometimes near human habitations. 

They are very silent although at their nests they can make hisses, grunts or snap their bills. It catches fish in its huge bill pouch while swimming at the surface.

Considering their size the bird take off the water with little effort, and when once launched fly strongly with steady rhythmical wings beats, heads drawn in between the shoulders

The birds nest in colonies and the nest is a thick platform of twigs placed on a low tree. The nests are usually built alongside other colonial waterbirds, particularly painted storks. Three to four chalky white eggs is the usual clutch. The eggs become dirty with age. Eggs hatch in about 30–33 days. The young stay in or near the nest from three to five months

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

Wikipedia

Pictures:

Kaikondrahalli Lake, Bangalore (2018)

Pallikaranai Wetlands, Chennai (2019)

Bird Watching - Little Cormorant

Little Cormorant

A glistening black duck like water bird with a long stiff tail and skender, compressed bill sharply hooked at the tip. The eyes, gular skin and face are dark. In the non-breeding bird or juvenile, the plumage is brownish and the bill and gular skin can appear more fleshy. 

Local Names : Pan Kowwa, Ganhill (Hindi)

                     Neer Kagam (Tamil)

                     Kakataravu (Malayalam)

Scientific Name : Phalacrocorax niger

It inhabits wetlands, ranging from small village ponds to large lakes

Little cormorants tend to forage mainly in small loose groups and are often seen foraging alone. They swim underwater to capture their prey, mainly fish. Lives exclusively on fish which it chases and captures under water.

Like all other cormorants, they will emerge from water and will hold out their wings and stay immobile for a while. The behaviour has been suggested to be for wing-drying.

Nest is a shallow twig platform, like a crow's in trees usually in mixed colonies of egrets, storks etc both near and away from water. eggs are pale bluish green with a chalky surface. The clutch size can vary from two to six eggs laid at intervals of about two days. The eggs hatch after 15 to 21 days. The downy chicks have a bare red head. The young birds are able to leave the nest after about a month

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

Wikipedia

Pictures:

Pallikaranai Wetlands (2019)

 The pictures are not that sharp as its taken on a rainy day.