{"id":364204,"date":"2026-06-03T15:34:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=364204"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:04:57","slug":"brahminy-kites-haliastur-indus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/brahminy-kites-haliastur-indus\/","title":{"rendered":"Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong>Citizen scientists in Kerala observed normally day-active Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) feeding at night, highlighting the impact of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on bird behaviour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><strong>About Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 349px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/earthlife.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brahminy-Kite-Standing-on-the-Ground-1280x853-1-1024x682.webp?resize=349%2C232&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Brahminy Kite \" width=\"349\" height=\"232\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Earth Life<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The Brahminy Kite is a<strong> medium- sized predatory bird.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is also known as the <strong>red-backed sea eagle\/ Chestnut white kite\/ Rufous eagle.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Scientific name:<\/strong> Its scientific name is <strong>Haliastur indus.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong> It inhabits<strong> coastal areas, mangroves, estuaries, and inland water bodies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Distribution:\u00a0<\/strong>Its range includes countries such as<strong> India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and some Pacific islands.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is widely distributed in <strong>India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan (part) and Sri Lanka.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Characteristics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Adult birds<\/strong> have a distinctive appearance<strong> with a white head and breast, contrasting with a rich chestnut plumage<\/strong> on the wings and body.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0<strong>Juveniles<\/strong> are a<strong> darker brownish-black with a paler head<\/strong> and prominent <strong>white patches under the wings<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>tail<\/strong> is<strong> white, and they have a hooked beak and sharp claws.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It <strong>differs<\/strong> from other kites in <strong>having a rounded rather than a forked tail.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Call sound:<\/strong> Its c<strong>all is a hoarse, wheezy squeal.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Diet: <\/strong>It is <strong>carnivorous and a scavenger. <\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It feeds on a wide range of small animals <strong>including fish, frogs, snakes, bats, mice, lizards and insects and also scavenges food.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Behaviour:<\/strong> It is <strong>skilled fliers and use their keen eyesight<\/strong> to spot prey from the air and execute impressive dives to catch fish.\n<ul>\n<li>They may also <strong>indulge in kleptoparasitism<\/strong> and try to <strong>steal prey from other birds.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It<strong> doesn&#8217;t migrate<\/strong> but <strong>performs seasonal movements associated with rainfall<\/strong> in some parts of its range.<\/li>\n<li>It is <strong>usually seen alone or in pairs and may roost communally<\/strong> on large and isolated trees.<\/li>\n<li>It <strong>avoids both semi-desert tracts and dense forest.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cultural significance:<\/strong> It is considered<strong> sacred in Hindu mythology<\/strong> and is<strong> associated with Lord Vishnu<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>It is often <strong>depicted in Hindu art<\/strong> and <strong>is considered a symbol of \u2018Garuda\u2019,<\/strong> the mythical bird and mount of Lord Vishnu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Hunting<\/li>\n<li>Collection of nestlings<\/li>\n<li>Habitat loss<\/li>\n<li>Disturbances<\/li>\n<li>Excessive pesticide use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservation status: <\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IUCN Red List:<\/strong> Least Concern<\/li>\n<li><strong>CITES:<\/strong> Appendix II<\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"Yjhzub\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style=\"font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(0, 29, 53);\">Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: <\/strong>Schedule I<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><strong>Impact of ALAN on Bird Species<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Research shows that <strong>Artificial Light at Night (ALAN)<\/strong> can keep <strong>birds active beyond daylight hours,<\/strong> disrupting <strong>their biological clock and affecting sleep, metabolism, melatonin production, and immune function.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>ALAN also influences<strong> animal decision-making by altering cue-outcome mapping<\/strong>, the process through which animals learn to associate specific signals with expected outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Citizen scientists in Kerala observed normally day-active Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) feeding at night, highlighting the impact of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on bird behaviour. About Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) The Brahminy Kite is a medium- sized predatory bird. It is also known as the red-backed sea eagle\/ Chestnut white kite\/ Rufous eagle.\u00a0&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/brahminy-kites-haliastur-indus\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,12039,11834],"tags":[11872,12172],"class_list":["post-364204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-knolls","category-species-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-mongabay","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}