Our Three Kites

Black-shouldered kite. Photo: Ihtisham Kabir

About a year ago I was driving through Brahman baria when I noticed an unusual bird sitting on the roadside power line. It had the beak, talon and sharp looks of a raptor; for a second I thought it might be a falcon or a hawk. I got out of the car and took pictures of the elegant white and grey bird with red eyes. Seeing me, it flew a short distance and resumed its perch. I continued taking its picture until it flew away.
Back home, I pored over books to identify the bird and discovered it was a black-shouldered kite – katua or dhola cheel. The smallest and least common of the three types of kites living in Bangladesh, it hunts directly from open fields or forests, looking for mice and other small mammals, reptiles as well as smaller birds. Sometimes it hovers overhead, talons ready, while looking for prey.
Kites belong to the bird family Accipitridae – a family of predators that also includes eagles, hawks, vultures, harriers and ospreys. Generally, these predators kill their prey with their talons and carry it to a safe place for consumption. There are several dozen species of kites in the world. The name of the toy “kite” flown by children originates in the name of this bird.
The most common kite in Bangladesh is the Brahminy kite, shonkho cheel. Distinguished by a white head and dark chestnut-coloured wings, it was a constant feature of the Sylhet skies under which I grew up, usually circling high above. To this day it remains a common bird in Bangladesh.
Recently I watched a Brahminy kite hunting in the mud of a freshly drained pond, where a few diehard fish, frogs, and crabs remained. It flew overhead in slow, lazy circles with alert eyes – until it saw food. Then it dove downwards head-first at an astonishing speed. Just when I thought its head was crashing into the ground, it flipped over and grabbed its target from the ground with its talons. As it soared, the black stripes on its white chest stood out. More often than not, though, its prey had escaped before the strike, and the kite released a mass of mud and grass from its talons halfway up the flight.
Brahminy kites are scavengers as well as raptors. They can be seen near meat markets and garbage dumps, looking for food. When foraging over open water, they grab food – dead or alive - from the water's surface with their talon rather than diving into the water.
The third type of kite in Bangladesh is the black kite, bhubon cheel, which is actually dark brown. This is the largest of our three kites, and probably closest to humans because it forages and scavenges for leftover food and animal remains from slaughterhouses, fish markets, and garbage dumps. I have often seen black kites sitting on top of tall koroi trees; perhaps they provide the height necessary for it to survey for food.
Although kites are commonplace, they are extraordinary birds and skilful survivors.

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