white eyed buzzard

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PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN # 308 (Observe the Bird and recognize)..WHITE EYED BUZZARD...[From a Photograph of SUBRAMANNIYAM MANI] ....WATERCOLOUR...5 INCH*7 INCH...2014....The White-eyed Buzzard (Butastur teesa) is a medium sized hawk, unrelated to the true buzzards of the genus Buteo, found in South Asia. Adults are characteristic, having a rufous tail, a distinctive white iris and a white throat with a contrasting mesial stripe and bordered by dark moustachial stripes. The head is brown and the median coverts of the upper wing are pale. They do not have typical carpal patches found on the underside of the wings of true buzzards but the wing lining appears dark in contrast with the flight feathers. They often sit upright on perches for prolonged periods and will soar on thermals in search of insect and small vertebrate prey. They are vociferous in the breeding season and several birds may be heard calling as they soar together. This slim and small sized hawk is easily identified by its white iris to the eye and the white throat and dark mesial stripe. A white spot is sometimes visible on the back of the head. When perched the wing tip nearly reaches the tip of the tail. The ceres are distinctly yellow and the head is dark with the underside of the body darkly barred. In flight the narrow wings appear rounded with black tips to the feathers and the wing-lining appears dark. The upper wing in flight shows a pale bar over the brown. The rufous tail is barred with a darker subterminal band. This species is widely distributed in South Asia, throughout India in the plains and extending up to 1000 m in the Himalayas. It is a resident in Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is absent from Sri Lanka and is probably absent from the Andamans. It is a summer visitor in northeastern Afghanistan. The feed mainly on locusts, grasshoppers, crickets and other large insects as well as mice, lizards and frogs. They may also take crabs from near wetlands and have even b