Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus girrenera) 14 September 2019, Madang, Papua New Guinea
![]() ![]() A few of these unmistakable, majestic kites were circling the road in the company of a fairly large congregation of Black Kites (Milvus migrans). Two subspecies are found in New Guinea. This is H. i. girrenera which breeds on the main island and adjacent Australia. It has a dull olive-gray bill as seen here. The race H. i. flavirostris found on adjacent Bougainville and Solomon islands has a bright yellow bill. Both races have their head and breast entirely white, lacking the fine streaking of other subspecies in India and Southeast Asia. Canon PowerShot SX60. References: Debus, S., Marks, J.S. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52980 on 3 November 2019). Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 2 Nov. 2019 Gregory, P. (2017) Birds of New Guinea, Including Bismarck Archipelago and Boughainville. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. |