Hi all.
Firstly, my apologies for asking for assistance on my first post. Hope I can contribute later on.
I would like help in identifying this Raptor.
Most of the id's I have looked up suggests a Whistling Kite, except for the fact that they do not appear scruffy. They are quite smoothly groomed. Are they Whistling Kites who have discovered a hair brush or are they a different species.
Thanks
Hi CQGems,
Many pictures that I have seen of Whistling Kites show that they can indeed look scruffy, particularly on the head. But other pictures show a very smooth raptor. So I think that yours could be a Whistling Kite.
It's lovely to see a close-up of a perched kite. All my photos have been of the bird in flight.
Regards,
Andy.
Thanks for the reply Andy.
Not easy to get a perched shot. By the time you are out of the vehicle they do the bolt. Shame this shot didn't have the sun at the right angle.
Now the next one to get perched is a Nankeen Kestrel. They are even spookier than the Kites.
CQ, I've never even SEEN a perched Whistling Kite - except very very far away. So it's nice to know that some people do see them perched!
Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing more of your photos.
Thanks Andy.
It helps when you are on a tractor stirring up mice, quail and locusts for them. They love their locusts. Great fun watching them swooping in within inches of the front of the tractor.
Fill their bellies and the next thing you know you have a walking kite, not a flying one.
I'm quite sure this is a young Black Kite. Notice the smaller build, yellow cere that the Whistling lacks and the lighter banding across the wings. Have a good look at both birds (search them up in google or something) and you will see yours is a Black Kite.
Feel free to ask for ID's any time you want, we are more than happy to help out :)
Cheers, Owen.
Also there is a brow above this bird's eye. it is lacking in yours.
I attached a couple of my shots of both species to help you out.
Black Kite in flight. The adults like this one are darker and have more white around the face.
Whistling Kite. Much larger than your bird looks.
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P.S Andy your were close and it is often hard to tell the difference in BOP's so don't feel disheartened!
Cheers, Owen.
I'll annoy you once again. Notice the forked tail on my Black Kite and your bird that isn't present in my Whistling Kite.
Cheers, Owen.
Thanks for the info Owen1.
Looking through your images and through Google, it seems that these 2 Kites are often mistaken.
I am tending toward your thoughts on this being a young Black Kite.
As an indication, a couple of observations where I see them.
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1. There would be 20-30 of them in the flock that is in the area.
2. They are a fairly big bird, the photo does make the bird look a bit smaller.
3. I often hear a characteristic whistle when these birds are around. Do Black Kites also have a whistle?
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Perhaps both species are present and I haven't made the difference out.
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I will try to get some better shots soon and see how it goes.
Black Kites love hanging in large groups like your birds and Whistling Kites are almost always in singles or pairs. Black Kites also have a whistle and I think it is longer than the call of the Whistling. They are still quite a large bird (larger than a Crow) and Whistling Kites are even larger.
Cheers, Owen.
Looks like a Black it is. They are slightly larger than the Crows but not by that much.
definitely a Black Kite. Yellow cere is just visible in the original photo. Nice!
And black kites are often around in large parties during mice plagues. We even had a pair stay over & breed about 4 km from us after the plague in about 1999. Haven't seen them lately so obviously we need another mouse plague. I don't think.