High as a Kite: Maestros of Indian Skies

Never behave like the paparazzi in the presence of a pair of nesting black kites (Milvus migrans, 55-68.5 cm) who have nestlings in their twiggy edifices. Decades ago in Mumbai, one such pair had an establishment in a peepul tree, at eye level, with our airy fourth-floor veranda. The nest and tree at the edge of a cliff overlooked the whole of Central Mumbai, so the site was well chosen. From my lookout, I got a splendid view of the goings on in that nest. One winter, two chicks hatched, and I stood by with my camera at the ready, (at the time, unaware of any ethical etiquette regarding nest photography!). The mom kite (I presumed) was not amused. She slipped off her nest, dropped height below the cliff, swung around a corner, gained height and came banking steeply and diving down straight for me, her claws extended, eyes blazing. I felt the rush of the wind as she swished past, only missing making contact because of the deep overhang of the veranda. I left them in peace after that (mostly), but not before I noticed that the elder chick seemed intent on murdering its sibling, and its parents seemed to have no problem with that! (Alas, it was successful, and I suspect must have eaten it!) Once the fledgling left the nest, the parent kites resumed normal civilised behaviour and ignored my presence on the veranda. 

Kites are easily the most commonly encountered raptors in India. Four species are present in India. They are a familiar sight, wheeling high up in the skies, mewling, and diving to pick up a titbit from the road. Apart from hunting live prey, kites are also major scavengers and have relatively weak bills as compared to other raptors.

Black kites (earlier called pariah kites), are our most common raptors and can be seen everywhere, circling the heavens, and mewling peevishly at each other as they scan the ground beneath for offal, carcasses, small reptiles (garden lizards), frogs, rodents, and suchlike prey. Over city landfills, they can be seen in the hundreds. These dark brown raptors with their forked tails prefer their food dead, their bills, though hooked, are relatively weak.

Their flying skills are unparalleled. For a squashed dead rat on the road, they will risk corkscrewing down between a spaghetti of electric and telephone wires, onto the street juddering with insane traffic, snatch up the titbit from virtually beneath your front bumper and steeple back into the sky triumphantly. Their acrobatic skills have encouraged youths in parts of Delhi to toss up bits of offal just to watch the birds jink down and snatch them midair. I enviously watch them circle and glide for hours; with a flicker of tail or pinion, they wheel and sail, sometimes miles high. But yes, they have to learn these skills; on several occasions, youngsters (like reckless young human drivers) have crashed into the side of the house and lain bewildered on the lawn. They are a beautiful chocolate brown, stippled with gold and will play dead, flopping flaccidly in your hands as you check them out. Leave them alone for a while, and they’ll suddenly awake and, with a bluster of wings, take off again! Occasionally, black kites will settle down on just-watered lawns for a bit of a wash and brush-up and possibly to exchange hot gossip!

Black kites usually nest between September and April. In winter, flocks of their migratory cousins (subspecies), black-eared kites, join them. They are a subspecies which can be discerned by the white patch under their wings and a streakier overall appearance.

The red kite (Milvus milvus; 60-66 cm), aka the European kite, is mostly a vagrant, and a rare visitor to the Indian subcontinent. A handsome rufous and ash grey, it has long steeply angled wings (in flight), and a deeply forked tail. After going extinct in the UK in the 19th century, it has been successfully reintroduced there, delighting birders again.

Brahminy kites (Haliuster indus; 48 cm) like water (and fish). They are found near coastal areas, along beach fronts and fishing villages, but also at brackish lagoons, rivers and lakes, and other inland waterbodies (and sometimes away from them as well). Striking in russet and pure white (head and breast), they have a rounded tail and a peevish mewling call, which Salim Ali described as being like that of a black kite with a sore throat. More timid than the black kite, they often get bullied and robbed by it and crows as they haunt fishing villages on the coast. They may swoop down to the water to pick up (usually dead) fish and flotsam from the surface. Brahminy kites nest in winter, building an untidy edifice fairly high up in a suitable tree.

The black-winged kite or black-shouldered kite, (Elanus caeruleus; 31-35 cm), is a slim, handsome hawk clad in silvery ash-grey, black (wings and shoulders) and a pure white (head). It has forward-facing burning ruby eyes, with which it glares at you from under brooding brows. Its legs are yellow-orange. An all-India resident (except for the northwest and northeast), it can often be spotted perched on the top of a post, bare branch, or transmission wire, scanning the ground below in scrub and lightly wooded country. If it spots a rodent, large insect, or small reptile, it may hover over it, the tips of its primaries fluttering as it keeps its balance in the air. It’ll drop down a bit and then on to its victim, flying away with it in its talons in a languid, easy-going manner, which is surprisingly swift, to consume it in peace. It may also fly in a grid-like pattern, systematically scanning an area, its eyes pinned to the ground, hovering from time to time to see if something interesting catches its eye. The species breeds almost throughout the year in India, often raising more than a single brood, which is unusual for raptors. Even after the fledglings leave the nest, they are fed “on the wing” by their doting papa, for nearly three months!

Kites really do embody the spirit of flight: they are deft, daring and elegant to watch, as they hold command of their realm in the heavens, wheeling and screaming, and making you wish you were up there with them.