# Brahminy kite (*Haliastur indus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/brahminy-kite  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), also called the Red-backed sea-eagle, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 529 g and a wingspan from 1.1 to 1.25 m. The brahminy kite lives in coastal habitats, is sedentary, and has a geographic range of 8,840,000 km²; checklists record it in Australia. Its clutch is 2 eggs, incubated for 26.5 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 409 g – 529 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.1 m – 1.25 m |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 26.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.4 – 2 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Haliastur
- species: *Haliastur indus* (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms: *Aquila ponticeriana*, *Falco indus*, *Falco pondicerianus*, *Falco pondicherri*, *Haliaeetus indus*, *Haliaëtus garuda*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the brahminy kite?

The brahminy kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes.

### How big is the brahminy kite?

The brahminy kite weighs 529 g as an adult and has a wingspan from 1.1 to 1.25 m, placing it in the small size class.

### What does the brahminy kite eat?

The brahminy kite is classed as an omnivore by diet category, with a trophic level of carnivore.

### Which countries is the brahminy kite recorded in?

Checklists record the brahminy kite in Australia, and its geographic range covers 8,840,000 km².

### Is the brahminy kite endangered?

No. The brahminy kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How many eggs does the brahminy kite lay?

The brahminy kite lays a clutch of 2 eggs, which are incubated for 26.5 days.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brahminy-kite