The eagle-owl freely picks off kites of any age from the nestling stage to adulthood and was noted to precipitously decrease kite breeding success when nesting within kilometers of the kites in the Italian Alps.Īccording to the IUCN Red List, the total Black kite population size is around 4,000,000-5,700,000 mature individuals. ![]() However, they do have a single serious predator: the Eurasian eagle-owl. As a large raptorial bird, the Black kite has few natural predators. They are also a major nuisance at some airports, where their size makes them a significant birdstrike hazard. Their habit of swooping to pick up dead rodents or other roadkill leads to collisions with vehicles. These birds also often perch on electric wires and are frequent victims of electrocution. The main threats to Black kites include poisoning, shooting, and the pollution of water by chemicals. ![]() Black kites are able to breed after their second year. After 50 days, they begin to move to branches next to the nest. The nestlings are able to stand on their legs after 17-19 days and begin flapping their wings after 27-31 days. Body feathers begin to appear after 18 to 22 days. Newly hatched chicks have a sepia down on the back and black around the eye and buff on the head, neck, and underparts. The incubation period varies from 30-34 days. The typical clutch size is 2 or sometimes 3 eggs. Both the male and female take part in nest building, incubation, and care of chicks. They are made from sticks and twigs and may sometimes be decorated with bright materials such as white plastic. The nests are built on tree branches, cliff ledges, or buildings and may be reused in subsequent years. Black kites nest singly or in loose groups. In India, it begins in winter (mainly January and February), while European birds breed in summer. The time of breeding varies with location. Amazing! Terribly sorry about the awful exposure settings, but an interesting series of snaps.Black kites are monogamous and form strong pair bonds that may last for life. Just look at the expressions of the man with the face to the camera, and the (non) movement of his hair from the rush of air. Now, one would imagine that such a huge bird would make a tremendous noise but these bird’s actually have feathers designed to soften any sounds or rush of air from the bird’s descent. Just as I swung the camera around with no time to refocus or change the exposure settings it swooped down. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed one particular bird (out of the 50 in the area) who was getting into attack mode, hovering silently over two men on the beach eating their lunches. I used a 500mm telescopic lens on my D700 full frame DSLR. ![]() I was photographing the birds circling over the beach and I had my camera set to overexpose to catch the contrast between the bright blue sky and the dark undersides of the birds. But in this area they are much more interested in raiding the bento boxes (packed lunches) of beach goers. ![]() It’s the most common bird of prey in the world and normally they prey on fish. It’s also the home of a large population of tobi, or Black Kites, in English. The area close to the Pacific Ocean is known as Shonan and is a favorite vacation spot for stressed out Tokyoites. On Saturday I went to Kamakura City just south of Tokyo.
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