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Whistling Kite

Haliastur sphenurus

Photo by RachaelB
Published on Project Noah
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-38.5066, 145.158

Field Notes

Description:

Adult birds are a pale buff on the head, breast and tail, with browner wings and black flight feathers. Immature birds are a heavily streaked reddish-brown with prominent pale spots on the wings. Throughout their lives, Whistling Kites have bone-colored legs and feet, which are unfeathered.

Habitat:

Wetlands

Species ID Suggestions

Whistling Kite

Haliastur sphenurus

Reference Link
Liam
1

Comments (7)
Liam
That wing patterning is actually quite typical of kites, particularly during molt.
lori.tas
I suspect it's just moulted the lost feathers. They have to moult it in stages - if they lost all their primaries at once they wouldn't be able to fly (although this does happen to some species when they are sitting a nest).
RachaelB
I was wondering about that...
Mark Ridgway
..hmm.. I wonder if a human clipped those primaries?
RachaelB
Plenty of bird life there - and snakes in summer! Best to go very early or on a weekday. Otherwise you end up biting your tongue and boiling in the corner when all the penguin parade tourists come into the hide and bang around scaring all the birds away :-)
Mark Ridgway
Nice. I must visit that lake properly some time.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Birds of the World
Mission
Birds of Australia
Photographed
PublishedOctober 13, 2013

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