Behold the Brahminy Kite

Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) are one handsome looking raptor, marble white and chestnut colored lower half. They are found next to water bodies and coastal regions. They have powerful talons with which they scoop the prey. These are non migratory birds, very tolerant to humans and so can be found in abundance in coastal towns and wetlands, marshy fields. Commonly found in Asia and Australia they look similar to white-bellied eagle (but eagles are bigger in size, and white bellied are darker coloured) A characteristic distinguisher of Brahminy kites from other Kites is that it has round tail (more like a hawk) unlike forked tail common among kites.

In Hindu mythology, this kite referred to as the ‘king of birds’: the Garuda. The celestial carrier or vahana of Lord Vishnu and hence given the status of a deity by the religious scriptures and is worshipped. I read in the Net that the origin of name Brahminy is from Brahmin. In Hindi it is referred to as brahminy cheel while in Tamil, Malayalam they are Krishna parunthu, in Kannada Garuda. In ancient India heroes who died heroic death were sometimes immortalized as garudas. This bird also has a sacred reference in Buddhism too. The emblem of Jakarta (Indonesia) is Brahminy kite, even the airline is named Garuda airlines. Incidentally Brahminy kite is endangered specie in Indonesia. In recent times a cigarette company has instigated demand for this hapless bird as pets, this I read in the Net: Femke Haas, founder of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, says a recent cigarette advertisement sparked local demand for the Brahminy Kite. “There is a big commercial, and they are using this bird as their icon, and now many birds are being sought by private pet owners because they think it’s cool to have these birds, since it’s an icon for this big cigarette company. And actually you see this all over Jakarta and all over Indonesia, big pictures of this bird.”