Bird Spotted today

Danny boy

Surin Farang Founder
Staff member
We were driving back fro Pu Sing to Surin and flew over us, a lovely Bird.

Brown body and a white head, big claws carrying a mouse / small creature.

Maybe Isanbirder can tell me what sort of bird this was ?

Thanks

Danny
 
It was an adult Brahminy Kite. I always thought of this as a shoreline bird, but it seems to be fairly widespread in this area; I see them over my house from time to time, and Chris has several, mostly the less easily identifiable immatures, over Huai Senang. Beautiful birds, though for elegance I prefer the Black-shouldered Kite, which you can quite commonly see hovering over the rice paddies. (grey with black wing-tips)
 
Mike, That is the same bird, I was talking to you about the other evening at Starbeam's, that I saw in the pet store next to Petchisam Plaza. --Joe--
 
BrahminyKite.jpg
 
I love to see those type of birds on my travels. Reminds me of the many trips to Devon & Cornwall were Buzzards can be seen.
 
Brahminy Kite pretty common over at Huai Saneng, especially in the areas between Huai Saneng and Ampuen Reservoir. Possible to see as many as 12 in a day, sometimes more. Adults have very white heads and breast like the pic Danny posted above while immatures have brownish streaking. Also, Mike's Black-shouldered Kite a fairly regular sight. In the Birds of Prey/Raptor department, can also look out for Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Pied Harrier, Shikra, and a few others. Have ID'd more than 150 species on and around Huai Saneng thus far and photographed approximately 140 of those. Expect that number to continue to rise for some time to come.

Anyone want to help count ducks and stork and the like, send me a PM. No, not joking. Cheers, Chris
 
Mike, That is the same bird, I was talking to you about the other evening at Starbeam's, that I saw in the pet store next to Petchisam Plaza. --Joe--

That was what I suggested, Joe. Why anybody would want to cage one of those beats me.
 
For "Isaanbirder"- I walked past that same pet shop yesterday afternoon & there were 2 black kites in a cage.They re v/big birds & the cage was far too small.My
Birds of Thai book says:-Winter visitor & passage migrant.A few breed in the central plains! I wondered where they would have acquired them?Any ideas?
English alan.
 
For "Isaanbirder"- I walked past that same pet shop yesterday afternoon & there were 2 black kites in a cage.They re v/big birds & the cage was far too small.My
Birds of Thai book says:-Winter visitor & passage migrant.A few breed in the central plains! I wondered where they would have acquired them?Any ideas?
English alan.

I just don't know where they would come from. Odd birds for anyone to want to keep in a cage anyway. We get a few round here in the winter, but the adults wouldn't be easy to catch.
 
I have seen this kind of thing near the Petckesem Plaza in a pet shop(NOT GOOD) I don’t know what they are thinking! I had a friend had 2 birds of pray in the U-K --BUT --he used to fligh them every day, hunting for rabbits and so on. What would the Thai do with a bloody bird of prey in a cage?Think1
 
I have seen this kind of thing near the Petckesem Plaza in a pet shop(NOT GOOD) I don’t know what they are thinking! I had a friend had 2 birds of pray in the U-K --BUT --he used to fligh them every day, hunting for rabbits and so on. What would the Thai do with a bloody bird of prey in a cage?Think1

I simply don't know what they could do with them, Alan. Birds for falconry have to be trained from a young age, so adult birds would be no good for that. When we studied the bird trade from China to Hong Kong many years ago, we found quite a number of birds of prey, including a Black Vulture which a friend hacked back to the wild (or tried to... it finished up in Bristol Zoo, I think), eagles, kites and so on. I suppose they were going to be eaten (the Chinese will eat almost any living creature), but who would want to eat a vulture?
 
View attachment 2809 Awesome1

The Brahminy Kite is an attractive bird, with chestnut plumage except for the white head and breast and black wing tips. The juveniles are browner, but can be distinguished from both the resident and migratory races of Black Kite in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings and rounded tail.
Beak of Haliastur showing the characteristic circular nostril

This species nests in trees, often close to water. It feeds as a scavenger, particularly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland.

Known as Elang Bondol in Indonesia, the Brahminy Kite is the official mascot of Jakarta, and considered as the contemporary representation of the mythical Garuda. In Malaysia, the island of Langkawi is named after the bird ('kawi' denoting an ochre-like stone used to decorate pottery, and a reference to the bird's primary plumage colour). In Bangladesh it is known as Shonkho Chil.
 
Saw between 15 and 20 of these today at Huai Saneng, depending on whether some of those sightings were re-looks at the same bird/s.

As for the caged ones for sale... there is a word for that... the word is WRONG.
 
I have a pair of Brahmani Kites that nest behind my place in the trees above an old crematorium so they are never disturbed. They take a few of our young bantam chicks, which is not a great problem as we never collect eggs ,just let them breed and if they have young to feed I am quite happy to preserve these lovely birds, she is not so keen as a Buddhist, but life can be cruel.
 
The crows here as so clever if they are not spotted by their mothers when they are out in the field they swoop in at a distance and mimic the walk of a chicken . They walk alongside an unwary chick who is confused as to what bird it is. This momentary confusion usually has deadly results for it, they are a very clever hunter.
 
I sat in the garden last night and heard this bird calling starting with a low pitched whistle starting out low and gradually rising. I pitched my whistle to answer it and with that it started to raise it's pitch, so for fun I raised mine a quarter tone higher, to which the bird did gradually raising it's tone higher than mine until it was almost at screaming pitch. It would stop then I would start up again like playing a game which attracted a bird of the same species in the next field to join in. It was great fun for me maybe not for the bird who might have seen me as a threat for territory. But no one got hurt and in a small way I was pleased that he thought I was another bird.
 
I sat in the garden last night and heard this bird calling starting with a low pitched whistle starting out low and gradually rising. I pitched my whistle to answer it and with that it started to raise it's pitch, so for fun I raised mine a quarter tone higher, to which the bird did gradually raising it's tone higher than mine until it was almost at screaming pitch. It would stop then I would start up again like playing a game which attracted a bird of the same species in the next field to join in. It was great fun for me maybe not for the bird who might have seen me as a threat for territory. But no one got hurt and in a small way I was pleased that he thought I was another bird.
I’m sure the late great ‘Isaan Birder’ would have been able to give you a very informative reply to that.

R.I.P. IB!


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