brahminy kite, flying @ Changi - July 2014

Spotted this large raptor sitting on a bare tree branch in the morning sun close to the shore. I had initially thought it was a White-Belllied Sea Eagle but soon realised that it was a Brahminy Kite instead. It was accompanied by another much smaller bird on another bare branch to the left. This looked like an oriental dollarbird but it was too far away to confirm.

The kite soon took off and flew in my direction before i lost track of it above the canopy. Brahminy Kites are known to be masters of flight and frequently catch fish from the surface of water bodies and whereafter they eat their catch on the fly whilst skilfully coasting against the wind. 

Despite being impressive masters of flight, brahminy kites have a cat-like call and one would be easily misled into thinking that there is a meowing cat somewhere in the sky above.

The clip repeats a section run at 10% showing the fluidity of the brahminy kite's flight. 

brahminy kite flying @ changi - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about this locally resident and beautiful bird of prey :

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliastur_indus.htm

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/brahminy-kite/

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/brahminy_kite.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_kite

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_687_2005-01-04.html

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Haliastur-indus

http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-brahminy-kite.html

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Haliastur-indus

brahminy kites mobbing a raptor @ kranji war memorial - Dec2012

Paid an impromptu visit to the Kranji War Memorial on Dec 23 and saw two Brahminy Kites flying about a tree on the left flank of the plot making a lot of noise. I soon saw the kites swooping down and dive bombing at something in the tree. They kept doing it but I initially thought they were probably dive bombing a tree snake or something which I would not be able to see. Coming around the rear left corner of the memorial building, I saw that one of the kites was taking a break at a nearby bare tree whilst the other continued its chatter flying about the tree. It was then that I saw that there was another bird in the tree and the kites had been dive bombing it. It looked like a large raptor (bigger than the kites) and had a pale-ish head with a black eyeline. One of the kites dived at it so close that it must have come within millimetres of the raptor and the raptor decided to take off after having to duck to avoid the kite's talons. I missed following it as it took off flying low initially and then it disappearing behind a gap in the tree line.

This episode made it clear the the kites were capable of superb aerial gymnastics even in very tight air spaces like that amongst the branches of the tree which the larger raptor had chosen to rest in.

Brahminy Kites are frequently seen eating small prey on the fly carefully holding the prey in their talons and manouvering their feet to within reach of their sharp beaks taking small bites whilst flying about maintaining their altitude. I've not noticed any other bird species in Singapore which does this.

Can anyone tell what kind of raptor it was? My guess is that it could be a juvenile pale-morph Oriental Honey Buzzard or a Changeable Hawk Eagle.

brahminy kites mobbing a raptor @ kranji war memorial - Dec2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

juvenile brahminy kites @ lim chu kang road - Oct2012

There were two raptors flying around the Lim Chu Kang chicken coops as if they were looking to make an afternoon meal out of the poultry in the megacoops. The chickens were certainly making a bit of noise from the safety of the sheltered buildings.

The raptors looked like juvenile Brahminy Kites. One of them was fiddling with its legs in midflight as if it had got something stuck and was trying to remove it. Brahminy Kites are well known for eating on the fly which is something they seem to specialise in as compared to other locally found raptors. The tails edge was also a slightly rounded squarish one as compared to the wedge shaped tail of the white-bellied sea eagles.

juvenile brahminy kites @ lim chu kang - Oct2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the Brahminy Kite :

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliastur_indus.htm

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/brahminy_kite.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_Kite

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/brahminy-kite-haliastur-indus

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/06/03/encounter-with-a-brahminy-kite-and-an-oriental-pied-hornbill/

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/06/brahminy-kite-in-fright-moult/

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/02/aerial-battle-brahminy-kite-vs-changeable-hawk-eagle/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/08/30/brahminy-kite-nesting-observations/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/09/22/brahminy-kite-competition-for-food/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/03/20/brahminy-kite-eating-on-the-wing/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/09/03/brahminy-kite-eating-on-the-wing-2/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/03/06/brahminy-kite-eating-prey-in-flight/

Beautiful Cyrene 8 - brahminy kite

Beautiful Cyrene 8 - brahminy kite from BeachBum on Vimeo.

The clip shows a heron flying off as a brahminy kite flies in to land. The kite settles down and starts nibbling at something below. Presumably it has caught something and has it firmly gripped in it's claws. The backdrop is the petrochemical/tankstore plants on Jurong island and the foreground sees the seagrass meadow interspersed with shallow lagoons which are left behind at low tide on Cyrene.

Links :-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_Kite
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliastur_indus.htm