Rare Brahminy Kite spotted in Malegaon

Yogesh More

Lokmat News Network, Malegaon

City-based wildlife photographer and bird watcher Sumit Ahire has spotted a rare Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus) in Malegaon city. According to him, the bird has been staying in the city for the last three to four months and is keeping good health. The sighting of the bird in the city is surprising, as it is usually only seen near water bodies such as lakes.

Black Kites are scavenging birds, but the Brahminy Kites feed on fish, crabs, and even small water birds. However, the pollution of water bodies has made the birds look for alternative places, says the birdwatcher.

The bird is often seen near the western and eastern coasts of the country, but rarely in Maharashtra, especially in North Maharashtra. The Brahminy Kite is a medium-sized raptor, a bird that has a hooked beak and large sharp talons. It feeds entirely or principally on meat which it hunts down, or on decaying flesh. It is also known as the Red-backed Sea Eagle in Australia. The bird is a very small Kite and is distinguished by its white patch on the head and breast, shorter wings, and rounded tail. It has reddish-brown body plumage.

Sumit Ahire further informed that the existence of indigenous species of trees and the plantation of such trees in and around the city by TaruAai, an organisation making efforts to spread awareness about nature conservation, may have attracted the small bird. The Brahminy Kite might have found abundant availability of food in the city. The TaruAai organisation has planted saplings of more than 45 indigenous species since 2015. One of the office-bearers of the organisation, under condition of anonymity, informed that indigenous species of trees attract many more creatures in comparison to foreign species of trees.

The bird is known as Garuda in Tamil Nadu and other states. It is said to be the Vahana of Lord Vishnu.

Shekhar Gaikwad of the Aapla Paryavaran organisation has said that it is really surprising that such a rare bird has been spotted in Malegaon and it has stayed put for so many days. It might have found alternative sources of food in the surroundings. Nowadays, farmers are making artificial ponds and inland fisheries might have made the bird stay in the city. If the bird is staying in Malegaon city, where the rivers are dry and which has very few water bodies, then it becomes the duty of the citizens to maintain the ecology in and around the city.