We know this bird simply as chil, but it has several other Bengali names, such as bhubon chil, badami chil, goda chil, dom chil and chila. In English it is called the black kite.

Whenever we see a bird flying high in the sky, we assume it is a kite. But there are many species of kite in our country. The black kite is found across almost the whole world except the two poles and the two American continents.

Little is known about whether its numbers have been falling or rising in recent years, but it still exists in satisfactory numbers. For that reason the IUCN has declared the species least concern. BirdLife International puts the world population of black kites at an estimated one million to six million.

Wide open country is the black kite's favourite habitat. It is also seen in dense and thin forest, hilly areas, riverbanks, beaches, forest edges, grassland and savanna, and at times in large ports, towns and villages.

In winter large numbers of migratory black kites arrive in Bangladesh and join the resident birds. The black kite is an opportunistic feeder with a very wide diet, which depends largely on what food is available locally. Where it lives near water, fish is its main prey, and it often eats dead or sick fish as well.

In search of food it circles lazily in the sky for hours, rarely flapping its wings. Because its body is light compared with its wings, it can glide for a long time without flapping. It uses its tail like a boat's rudder to change direction quickly and can fly even against the wind. When it spots food it folds its wings and dives to seize its prey.

March to May is the black kite's main breeding season, though the season varies from place to place. At this time the male circles in the sky and suddenly swoops down onto the back of the female perched on a branch.

It builds an untidy platform-like nest of sticks and twigs in tall trees, and may also nest on water tanks on tall buildings. The nest may contain waste paper, bird feathers, torn cloth, dry dung, mud and bright plastic objects. Nests are 5 to 30 metres above the ground.

Once the nest is built, the female lays 2–4 pinkish-white eggs measuring 5.3 x 4.3 cm, which hatch in 30 to 34 days. The chicks stay in the nest for about two months. Both male and female build the nest, incubate the eggs and raise the young. The young become able to breed at two years of age.

Source: Bangladesh Pratidin. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.