Wordless Wednesday: Flight of the Hornbill

By Sandeep Somasekharan
More on hornbills
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On the Wing: Black-shouldered Kite

An attractive raptor even while perched, the Black-shouldered Kite is hard to forget once spotted hovering

For a long time after I learned to identify this bird, also called the Black-winged Kite to differentiate it from the Australian  Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), I did not witness its flight. During the winter dusk near my village in Rae Bareli, I always saw it hover over potential prey that it had spotted on the ground. All you needed was to scan the horizon and, eight times out of 10, you could spot this bird hovering. The kite hovers over open scrub or grassland patches with its wings held high up and with slow wingbeats, beginning quite high up and gently gliding lower before it starts hovering again. This, presumably, is a tactic to get closer to its prey and fix its location on the ground. Sometimes the bird shifts sideways while still hovering. The action is repeated 2-5 times after which the raptor either swoops down or flies off to locate another quarry - usually lizards and rodents.

Its flight is similar to its hover -- gentle wing-beats punctuated by long glides. On this occasion, I first saw it perch on a tree stump as the wind gently caressed its soft white down feathers. It fixed me with its sparkling red eyes and after a beat took off gently, skimmed the tops of the thorny acacias and flapped out of view.

This elegant raptor, with its diagnostic grayish-black shoulder patch and red, owl-like iris, is found throughout India except for the country's extremities.

Text and photos by Sahastrarashmi
Read all posts in our On the Wing series 

On The Wing: Indian Grey Hornbill

What goes flap-flap-glide, flap-flap-glide? A Grey Hornbill in flight!



Grey hornbills (Ocyceros birostris) fly like tiny missiles -- if not by speed, by profile.

Flap-flap-glide, flap-flap-glide... when you see one pass by you can always expect another one to be close behind – usually its soulmate. This one was headed straight for me when it realized I was right ahead, braked in the air spreading the wings and tail feathers, and within a second, it changed direction by ninety degrees and disappeared into the branches of a tree.

Text and photo by Sandeep Somasekharan
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See all posts in our On the Wing series

On the wing: The Racket-tailed Drongo

The spectacle of a Racket-tailed Drongo in flight can make an air-show look like a cheap circus 

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is quite a character. The funky hairdo over the beak, the long-flowing tail and its ability to mimic scores of other birds makes it one very interesting chap to watch. This individual was found next to a huge congregation of birds - the only mixed flock we saw on our trip to ARRS last month. Other birds included Brown-cheeked Fulvettas, Blue-winged Parakeets and Yellow-browed Bulbuls. 

The drongo would take off from its perch on the verge of a small grassland adjoining the station campus and twist and turn in the air. It would pick up an insect or two in mid-air and alight on a branch on the other side...

Text and photo by Sandeep Somasekharan

See more posts in our On the Wing series and the Agumbe Diaries

On the Wing: Indian Silverbills

Ever wondered why some birds never fly? And we are talking of little birds, not ostriches and emus...

Flit: v. To move lightly and swiftly. 


I have always been amazed as to how some birds never seem to fly -- they always flit. Whenever I have come across a flock of Indian Silverbills (Euodice malabarica), also called the White-throated Munia, I have had a hard time observing their wing movements. They always seem to be in a hurry and appear permanently unsettled. All one ever gets to see is a blur of wings accompanied by a soft buzz or a short hop. 

On the field one can identify them by their silvery finch-like bill, though I always notice the white rump patch first. Like all finches and munias, these seed-feeders are delightful to watch but no matter how long one observes them, you will never see them fly. They just flit. 

The blog Nature Magnified has some good pics of this bird

Text and Photograph by Sahastrarashmi

On the wing - Whiskered Tern unloads excess baggage

Pooping on the fly -- a tern for the worse, or the ideal weight-loss solution?

In flight, a Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus) unloads extra baggage by leaving a trail of guano. Defecation in flight probably helps optimise body mass for energy-efficient flight, especially after a bird has recently fed. 


Whiskered Terns may be seen well inland over large water bodies as well as along coasts, estuaries and backwaters. They are strong fliers, with their pointed wing-flaps providing considerable thrust. They twist and turn in flight, changing direction randomly and sweep into the water to emerge with unsuspecting fish, amphibians, crustaceans and aquatic insects in their beaks.


Text and photograph: Sandeep Somasekharan

Where eagles dare... to soar!

Honorary Ogre Anand Yegnaswami is mystified by the phenomenon of soaring after watching raptors do their thing

A Black Eagle on outstretched wings

Our recent trip to Dandeli with the Ogres got me acquainted with a majestic flyer. We were walking up the Nagzari trail, which leads to a waterfall of the same name, when a raptor appeared overhead. “Black Eagle!” exclaimed Bijoy. What followed was one of the closest and memorable up-close experiences with the bird. We strained our necks trying to keep our eyes on the raptor, which played hide-and-seek as it circled high above the tall trees of the Nagzari Valley. Our irises followed the Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis) wherever it went, held together as though by an invisible glue. And then it perched upon a tree with regal poise. We were indeed fortunate to have observed this bird of prey from so close.

I felt a tingling sensation, awestruck by the bird's aerial performance against the azure backdrop. I asked Sahastra: “Why do they fly around in circles?”


“Thermals,” he said, and went ahead to explain about the air columns that are formed by the uneven heating of the ground. I wondered: I have been looking at these birds soaring high in the sky for aeons, yet never did it occur to me to delve into the science behind their flight.

Watching a raptor, like this Black Eagle, negotiate thermals is an education in itself

For me large birds circling above had come to signify death – I had come to assume that the birds circled above because they had spotted some carrion below. Such an assumption was excusable during the days when I had not claimed an interest in birding, but not anymore for I have understood that the soaring flight is yet another classic example of how our avian friends have adopted a natural phenomenon to their advantage.

This short tête-à-tête with Sahastra gave me an important insight – what would have been a fleeting glance turned out to be a marveling experience and the reason for it was “interest”. Reminded me of the story of a lady who threw away an old saucer when an archaeologist walking by the trash pile jumped up in joy shouting “Ming”. The interest in the Black Eagle’s flight turned out to be my “Ming” experience, which helped me understand and appreciate the phenomenon of thermals, which I wish to share with you.

Vultures, such as this Himalayan Griffon, offer an excellent demonstration of the phenomenon of soaring, traversing long distances with barely a flap of their enormous wings

Thermals are rising drafts of air produced due to the solar heating of the surface of the earth – the air in contact with the hot surface rises until it loses the heat energy and descends to the surface of the earth, only to rise again. Thermals are usually observed from late in the morning (when the sun starts heat up the cold air) until late in the afternoon (when the sun begins to set). The fact that thermals are a localized phenomenon helps explain why the soaring birds are seen circling – the swirling updraft of air gives the birds the circular flying pattern. Once done soaring, the birds can move out of the air column and descend by gliding with the cold downward draft of air.

I chewed on the thought for a while when a question popped up in my head: Why is it that only certain species of birds have a soaring flight pattern?  As a bird becomes larger in size, it needs larger wings to produce the forces required to keep it airborne. For instance, a Griffon vulture weighing close to 10 kg would need a wingspan of almost 3 metres to sustain flight. Flapping such enormous wings would require colossal calories of energy (now it is easy to imagine why ostriches don’t fly) and hence these large birds use thermals (convection air currents/air columns) to soar.

Wide wingspans enable large birds of prey like vultures to take advantage of thermals to soar

Thermals don’t have any particular direction, so it is possible to observe the birds soaring in either direction – clockwise or anticlockwise. It depends on factors such as wind direction, the contours of the surface where the thermals originate, etc. The Coriolis Effect that guides the directions of hurricanes does not apply here due to the insignificant air mass of the thermals.

I began writing about my newfound wisdom on the soaring flight pattern, emphasizing the “hot” air currents facilitating the ascent of large birds when an email from Sahastra provided an interlude to my incessant keystrokes.

He shared an experience from his Himalayan trek with Bijoy where he had observed Griffons and Lammergeiers (Bearded Vultures) rising up against cliff faces on misty/rainy days. He went ahead to explain the concept of obstruction currents - which are essentially updrafts of air caused by obstructions such as hills, cliffs or tall buildings. This kind of soaring is called slope-soaring or ridge-soaring. This brought back memories of my office in Houston (I was on the 19th floor of the 20-storey building) where I used to see American Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) flying outside the windows and occasionally colliding against the panes. I wish I had known about obstruction currents then -- I would have been able to better appreciate the presence of these vultures.

The Black Eagle experience at Dandeli that brought me a learning (better late than never) would have eluded me had I not heeded to my birder friends’ advice: “When you spot a bird, don’t just see. Observe!”


Video: Lammergeier soaring

Lammergeier Descent from Sahastra Rashmi on Vimeo.

Video: Himalayan Griffon soaring

Himalayan Griffon's Soaring Flight from Sahastra Rashmi on Vimeo.

Text and info-graphic by Anand Yegnaswami

Photographs by Sandeep Somasekharan
Videos by Sahastrarashmi