Twitchers Needed

[draggons]

Can anyone identify this bird? About 4 foot wingspan. It roosts next to my garden and the maid says that it was hand reared by a farang then released when he left so don't know if it's indigenous or not.

[angiud]

Is a fish Eagle, maybe young. Do you live close to the sea?

[Nienke]

Looks like a Brahimy Kite: http://www.pbase.com/peterericsson/image/72665803

Or is it Brahminy Kite ???

http://www.raptor.org.au/mindus.html

The Brahminy Kite derives its name from the Brahmin caste of India, where in certain systems of belief, the bird is held sacred. Also called the Red Backed Sea Eagle (a misnomer, since it is not an eagle but a kite) the Brahminy may be found in coastal areas from northern Australia throughout New Guinea Indonesia, the Solomon Islands and up to India and southern China.

An inhabitant of mangroves and river deltas, the Brahminy kite is both a scavenger and hunter of fish, frogs, crabs and snakes. It will also take small animals and insects, the latter of which it catches in midair. The Brahminy Kite hunts by soaring in a quartering pattern at low altitude (up to fifty metres) to search out its food.

[Goshawk]

Or is it Brahminy Kite ???

yes, it is..

they are native to Thailand, but not so widespread now.. mainly in the south.

the black kite is the more common one your likely to see..

[TBWG]

Hi

You are lucky indeed to have such a beautiful bird for a neighbour

TBWG

[hanno]

Black Kites more common then Brahminy? I think I do not even have Black Kite on my Thai list:-(((( Or do you mean Black-shouldered Kite?

[p_brownstone]

Black Kites more common then Brahminy? I think I do not even have Black Kite on my Thai list:-(((( Or do you mean Black-shouldered Kite?

Goshawk clearly meant the Black Shouldered Kite elanus caeruleus เหยี่ยวขาว in Thai, just a typo from someone who obviously knows his stuff.

I was going to Post earlier but did not want to appear pedantic!

Patrick

[Goshawk]

Goshawk clearly meant the Black Shouldered Kite elanus caeruleus เหยี่ยวขาว in Thai, just a typo from someone who obviously knows his stuff.

no.. i did not mean 'Yeow Khao'..

Black Kite is now more widespread, especially in the north, than the Brahminy.. i last saw a very large group around Doi Tao Lake a couple of months ago..

[hanno]

Hi Goshwak,

Don't doubt your sightings and I believe that Black Kite is a pretty common winter visitor (I usually come to Thailand in Summer), but surely it is a fairly uncommon resident?

I read up on Brahminy a little bit and it does seem that has indeed undergone quite a decline in Thailand though I do remember seeing it quite often in Krabi and in the southernmost provinces.

Hanno

[Goshawk]

Hi Goshwak,

Don't doubt your sightings and I believe that Black Kite is a pretty common winter visitor (I usually come to Thailand in Summer), but surely it is a fairly uncommon resident?

I read up on Brahminy a little bit and it does seem that has indeed undergone quite a decline in Thailand though I do remember seeing it quite often in Krabi and in the southernmost provinces.

Hanno

it is/has always been a resident bird in Thailand, and yes numbers do swell with the migrants, including the other race..(perhaps, many are staying on now..) It has always suffered from persecution (like the kites everywhere, i suppose) but things do appear to changing..

like i said, you are more likely to see a Black now, especially in the north, rather than a Brahminy.. (i've never seen Brahminy north of BKK) this is my experience from extensive birding around the kingdom..

i take it you do know that 'Pariah Kite' (govinda) is Black Kite ?

[Goshawk]

i've just dug around through my hard drive full of pix.. its cropped & grainy but....

I believe that Black Kite is a pretty common winter visitor

...here is a Black kite (m.m. lineatus) - the 'migrant' race - alternative old name Black-eared Kite, Thai's say... 'Yeow Dam Yai'

(as opposed to m.m. govinda - 'official' resident race - old name Pariah Kite.. Thai's say... 'Yeow Dam Noi')

i took this around Doi Tao about four visits ago.. it was last year and well into the month of June !

both races in good numbers have been present every visit throughout the year since... When i asked a local fisherman about them, he said they never leave the area... Its just about one of the most reliable sites i know... If you only visit in the summer give it a try next time you're here.. it's 'over the pocket' as is said..

incidently, the fish in its talons was caught 'live'.. they're not strictly scavengers..

(reason i asked wether you know 'Pariah' is Black Kite, is that a couple of years ago i met a Dutch birder who told me a similar thing... " i don't have Black Kite on my Thai list yet, but i do have Black-shouldered & Pariah " - i walked away and smiled..)

[hanno]

Thanks Goshawk,

I will check it out when I am in the place. I just checked my records and actually saw plenty of Black kites in Phetchaburi when I was there in December 2005, I had plain forgotten about it

To be honest, I have never heard of the term "Pariah Kite", though i am of course aware of the sub (full?) species.

Cheerio,

Hanno

[geriatrickid]

Now you got me curious, once I read the diet part. Are these hard shelled crabs or soft shell? Does this bird use the beak to break the shell or does it drop the crab from the air to break the shell as some birds will do? (Tried looking it up and got nothing)

[hanno]

geriatrickid, Brahminy Kites will eat pretty much anything they can catch, scavenge on, or steal. I have only seen them take small crabs off mud flats which they had no problem to dispatch and eat on the wing. Dropping crabs might not really work in the habitat they prefer as there might not be anything hard enough to actually break open a crab.

[geriatrickid]

Thank you.

[draggons]

Thanks for all the replies.