Brahminy Kite, 4/9/2012

On early April, a Brahminy Kite was spotted at the riverside of Tamsui River in between Wugu and Bali District of New Taipei City. As soon as its photos were posted on internet, wave after wave of birdwatching fans rushed to photograph it. The reason might well be because, under normal condition, Brahminy Kite would not appear in Taiwan unless they lose their sense of direction or someone bring them into Taiwan. Another reason might be due to their beautiful outlook. They have maroon wings and back with white head, neck, breast and belly. People said this Brahminy Kite is a released bird. Someone imported the bird into Taiwan, but is forced to release it to the wild, maybe because it is too expensive to feed it in a long run.

Maybe because this bird was imported and fed by human being before, it is very much used to human's close encounter. For over an hour, it just stood there on a low tree branch not higher than 2 meters from the ground. Most of the time it just stood still, turning its head or sorting its feathers occasionally, and didn't care about over 20 birdwatching fans moving around to negotiate right angles to take pictures. After hours of standing on the same branch, it took off to catch a fish. One of the birdwatching fans said, at peak time, over 200 fans carried their big long-range lens cameras to photograph it in one day.











video recorded at Bali District, New Taipei City

Chinese name:	栗鳶
English name:	Brahminy Kite
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Haliastur indus
Order:	Ciconiiformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Introduced birds or disoriented birds in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Small animals, rats, small birds, insects
Habitat:	Woodlands
Altitude:
Behavior:	Appear alone or in flocks
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: Head, neck, breast and upper belly are white with fine vertical black stripes. The rest are mainly maroon. The primary remiges are black. Feet are yellow.
Breeding places:	East China, Yunnan Province of China, Tibet, Southeast Asia.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in South China, Taiwan, Philippine, Brunei, Celebes, Malay Peninsula, etc. Appear in west Taiwan September through May next year. Move south in great amount in September, passing Hengchun Peninsula.
Time photographed:	4/9/2012
Location found:	Bali District, New Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes: