| Summary: | Do you know that most humans now live in cities? This has caused a lot of trouble for many animal species. But a few opportunistic animals, like crows and pigeons that you commonly encounter in cities, benefit from dense human habitation. How does a very urbanized, paved, and populated landscape manage to support enormous flocks of birds in tropical cities? This is mostly unknown for urban birds like me: the Black Kite Milvus migrans. Researchers studying me in Delhi show that I depend on the food provided by humans and I prey on other common urban animals, such as pigeons and rats. The researchers of this article looked at the food that Muslims in the Indian subcontinent ritually offer kite birds and the impact these meat offerings have. Their analyses show that kite birds take cues from human activity, preferring densely populated areas in the city, with trees capable of holding a large nest, or road configurations that allow for easy access to human waste and ritual food.
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