As I was going through my archives I came across an old set of photos from my old school.  Our school has a medium-sized aviary where two Brahminy Kites were located. They were supposed to be a donation from someone. The Brahminy Kite is a medium sized raptor that is rather common around South east Asia. Here in the Philippines they are locally termed as Banog which is a local term derived from “kite” which is tabanog in our dialect. This beautiful bird is rather common because of its ability to easily adapt in different environments such as shorelines, mountains, forests and even some who thrive in near-urban areas. They are scavengers meaning they feed on carcasses of fishes and even of other animals.

On that day when I was taking the pictures of these beautiful raptors, I had the opportunity to have an exclusive entrance in the cage. (I befriended the care takers and most of the people already knew my passion for birds) They happened to be feeding them a pigeon and so I decided to shoot away with my cam.

Above you will see the children observing the Juvenile Brahminy Kite (already a fledgling as it knew how to fly) feeding on the  pigeon. I was this close *stretches arms to measure 15 inches* to the raptor. I guess this bird is rather used to human presence as it was not slightly disturbed by my shooting.

You can easily appreciate the detail of the bird as you can get really close to it. The Juvenile is already showing some signs of maturation as its head is now starting to grow its appropriate white feathers.

Here’s a shot of the adult Brahminy Kite which some people mistakenly identify as a “Bald Eagle”. There are some people who attempt to take care of these in domestication but I suggest that you leave these birds to the experts as they are not meant for pets.

Related posts:

1. Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
2. White Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)
3. Dollar Bird (Eurystomus orientalis)
4. Baby Scops Owl
5. Photoblogging Crocolandia Talisay City, Cebu