Brahminy kite
Scientific name: Haliastur indus (Boddaert, 1783)
Overview
The brahminy kite, also known as the red-backed sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers, found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The brahminy kite is found mainly on the coast and in inland wetlands, where it feeds on dead fish and other prey. Adults have a reddish-brown body plumage contrasting with their white head and breast which make them easy to distinguish from other birds of prey.
From the Wikipedia article “Brahminy kite”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Australia; Oceania; Southern Asia.
Common names
Names in other languages (13)
- Arabic
- حدأة براهمية
- Bengali
- শঙ্খ চিল
- Chinese
- 栗鸢
- French
- Milan sacré
- German
- Brahmanenmilan, Brahminenweih
- Hindi
- ब्राह्मिनी चील
- Indonesian
- elang bondol
- Japanese
- シロガシラトビ
- Persian
- عقاب دریایی پشتقرمز
- Portuguese
- milhafre-brâmane, milhafre-de-dorso-ruivo
- Russian
- Браминский коршун
- Spanish
- Milano brahmán
- Urdu
- براہمنی چیل
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q645755, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Brahminy kite”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026