Description:

A large, dark brown kite with only slightly pale head, and a long, moderately forked brown tail with narrow dark barring. Dark rufous brown, with variable whitish crescent at primary bases on underwing, and pale band across median coverts on upperwing. Juvenile has broad whitish or buffish streaking on head and underparts.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant in all the districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, mainly through central parts. During migration commonly found in aquatic habitats, rivers, lakes, wetlands and nearby meadows, woodland, villages and towns, up to 4000m.

Behavior:

Often forages around margins of waterbodies, and by refuse dumps or slaughterhouses. Catches prey on ground or water; large insects caught in air, then eaten on wing. Very adaptable raptor. Feeds on wide variety of animal remains, garbage, scraps, any kind of carrion. Also catches live prey: mammals, small birds, fish, lizards, amphibians and invertebrates.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Black Kite in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Black Kite

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.