Black Kite

The Black Kite with the scientific name Milvus migrans is one of the medium-sized birds which belongs to the family Accipitridae.

The quick classification about Black kite is given below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Falconiformes
Family	Accipitridae
Genus	Milvus
Species	Milvus migrans

Physical Characteristics:

The Black Kite is one of the small birds in India. These species are distinguished from the Red Kite by its smaller size. It has less forked tail which is commonly visible in flight and it also has a plumage which is dark in colour and its plumage does not have any refocus. Both male and female black kites are alike. The Black kite's upper plumage is brown in colour and its neck tends to be paler. Its eyes which are behind the patch appear darker and very attractive. The feathers of these black kites are in black colour and these feathers have dark cross bars and sometimes these feathers are mottled at the base.


The lower parts of these black kites are in pale brown colour and it becomes lighter towards the chin of the black kite. These black kites body feathers have dark shafts which gives the streaked appearance during flight.

The cere and gape of these species are in yellow colour and its bill is in black colour. The legs of these species are in yellow colour and the claws of these species are of black colour. These species have a shrill whistle which is followed by a rapid whinning call.

These black kites are commonly found in a wide variety of habitats

including both natural and artificial habitat like wetlands, savannah, river edges, towns, villages, big cities and wood land. The Black Kite is commonly found in a variety of habitats like timbered watercourses to open plains, in and around outback towns.

These black kites are commonly seen in small groups. Sometimes these species may form huge flocks containing thousands of birds. This is one of the birds which are commonly seen in such large flocks. These species are not found in places like dense forests, high mountains and pure deserts.

Behaviour:

The Black kite is always found to be perched in the trees. It produces a call like 'psee-err' followed by a staccato 'si-si-si-si-si'. These species often gather together and soar above fires, workers, shooters, or watching for flushed prey.

Migration:

The tropical species of these black kites are resident in nature. The temperate population of these species is migratory in nature.

Food Habits:

The Main food for black Kite is small mammals, lizards, grasshoppers and insects. These species take both live and dead prey as their food. This black kite sometimes behaves like a scavenger and does frequent trips in outback towns.

The Black kite is a commonly seen bird in the Indian Subcontinent. It is commonly found in Gujarat, Kolkata, Assam and Haryana. These birds are found in the following sanctuaries,

1. Khijada Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat.
2. Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary in Haryana

3. Kaziranga National Park in Assam
These species are also found in the countries like Europe, Australia, New Guinea, United States, Indonesia and Africa. The quick classification about the distribution of black kite in the world is given below,

Mating and Nesting

The Black kites found in India start their breeding in the winter season. The young black kites come out before the monsoon starts. They build the nest in a tall tree by using rags and twigs and the nest structure and orientation is based on wind and rainfall of their living atmosphere. In these species both male and female participate in the nest building activity. They sometimes decorate their nest with bright-colored materials like white plastic to signal other black kites to keep away from them.

Sometimes these species may reuse the same nest in subsequent years. The male black kite used to copulate frequently with female black kite. In these species, female bird is approached by many males and there is lot of chances for extra pair copulations.
Male bird used to copulate with female frequently after return from a foraging trip to increase the chance of the sperm fertilizing the eggs. Both male and female take part in the incubation work. The clutch size of this bird is 2 or 3 eggs. The incubation period for this bird is 30 to 34 days. Young one will stay in the nest for two months. Both parents will take care of their young ones. Sometimes this care is decreased because of migration.

Siblings are very aggressive in nature to each other. Because of this, sometimes the weaker chick may be killed by the others. The feather for the young one will grow after 18 to 22 days. We can notice the feathers on the head of this young one from 24th to 29th day. They can stand on their own legs after 17 to 19 days. They begin flapping of their wings in between 27 to 31 days. They start moving from the nest after 50 days. These black kites can be able to breed after second year only.

The Black kite is one of the common raptor.

These species is dwindling in the parts of its ranges. The main reason for the threats of these black kites is agricultural pesticides, water pollution, hunting and carcass poisoning.

ICUN has declared that the black kite is falling under the category of "least concern:. But, in the countries like Europe, these species are considered as most threatened .

Subspecies of Black Kite in India

There are five different sub species of Black Kites recognized in the world. The quick classification of the subspecies is given below,

1. European Black Kite with the scientific name of Milvus migrans migrans
< 2. Black -eared Kite with the scientific name of Milvus migrans lineatus
3. Small Indian Kite with the scientific name of Milvus migrans govinda
4. Fork tailed Kite with the scientific name of Milvus migrans affinis
5. Taiwan Kite with the scientific name of Milvus migrans formosanus