Whistling Kite — David Taylor - Master Jeweller

This is mid sized (wingspan about 1.5metres) light brown hawk that you will often see hunting over wetlands. The upper parts of the bird are the darkest brown area. Their eyes are also brown and the female is larger than the male.

The under parts, head and neck are light brown with pale streaking. Immature birds are more heavily streaked. You can see the black wing tips are deeply fingered.

You can see in the underwings just in from the black tips a 3 feathered pale section that looks like the letter “M”. The feet are a pale cream.

They are often seen over wetlands, farmland. You will also find them in areas like rivers and coastal areas where there are large trees. They mostly scavenge food but will hunt live prey. You will see them hovering over fires waiting for prey.