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Kite bird india7/30/2023 It mainly eats small rodents, particularly the introduced house mouse, and has benefitted from the modification of the Australian landscape by agriculture. The black-shouldered kite hunts in open grasslands, searching for its prey by hovering and systematically scanning the ground. Juveniles disperse widely from their home territory. Chicks are fully fledged within five weeks of hatching and can hunt for mice within a week of leaving the nest. Three or four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days. The birds engage in aerial courtship displays which involve high circling flight and ritualised feeding mid-air. The species forms monogamous pairs, breeding between August and January. It can be confused with the related letter-winged kite in Australia, which is distinguished by the striking black markings under its wings. The primary call is a clear whistle, uttered in flight and while hovering. It gains its name from the black patches on its wings. Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in length, with a wingspan of 80–100 cm (31–39 in), the adult black-shouldered kite has predominantly grey-white plumage and prominent black markings above its red eyes. It resembles similar species found in Africa, Eurasia and North America, including the black-winged kite, a species that has in the past also been called "black-shouldered kite". What are our obligations to other people, to other species? Our greater ecosystem? Nadeem and Saud reminded me that ultimately, “life itself is kinship.The black-shouldered kite ( Elanus axillaris), also known as the Australian black-shouldered kite, is a small raptor found in open habitats throughout Australia. In a highly individualistic, capitalist society, there’s an emphasis on protection and preservation of the individual and the idea that our biggest obligation is to ourselves. Nadeem and Saud’s unwavering commitment to their mission despite floods and burning mosques reminded me how small we are in relation to the ecosystems around us. Living in Seattle, a city where humans often refuse to look at one another, I was in awe of their compassion. Despite Nadeem’s protests, Saud and another companion strip to their underwear, swim hundreds of feet against the current and place an injured kite in a basket that Saud drags behind him on the swim back. The most memorable scene is filmed along a riverbed. His work rescuing the kites, on the other hand, is never-ending. They carefully balance their anxiety about being the newest victims of Islamophobic violence with their lifelong concern about the health of the kites.Įven when Nadeem’s wife urges him to join the protests, he emphasizes the importance of his work: “I’m the only one doing it.” Perhaps he views the protests and violence as ephemeral, a temporary human crisis that will climax and eventually conclude. While they struggle to acquire funding and nurse kites back to health, protests and violence explode. The film was shot over three years, and shifting civil unrest is a constant backdrop to the brothers’ personal crusade. All of this culminates in a mission to preserve the kites as a means to preserve all life. Their perspective is also rooted in a deep understanding of ecosystems, anatomy and climate. As children, their mother often told folklore stories about jinn, or spirits, emphasizing the interwoven existence of all life, seen and unseen, animal and vegetable. As practicing Muslims, they reference the sawa –b, or reward, they receive from Allah when they feed or care for the birds. The brothers’ religious faith and scientific backgrounds shape their unique perspectives on climate change. Without them, the landfills would be sky-high. The kites are crucial to Delhi’s ecosystem, as the species eats about five tons of garbage every few days. Although the film is scattered with gorgeous nature shots of soaring birds, frantic ants and slow caterpillars, “All That Breathes” is anything but a nature film: this is a haunting documentary on the complexity and necessity of interspecies coexistence.ĭelhi’s smog-filled skies poison the kites, revealing an extreme level of environmental toxicity. Director Shaunek Sen’s new documentary, “All That Breathes,” chronicles the efforts of two brothers, Nadeem and Saud, in Delhi, India, to rescue and care for the bird known as the black kite in their makeshift basement hospital.
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