Spotting

many thanks
why i was confused was that the eyes are more round like shikra but underpart is plain. and wings are black but no prominent eyebrows as seen in black shouldered kite

White-tails are in the Americas

My first thought was that it was not a Black-shouldered Kite, but it does not even have a hint of barring on the chest which says not a Shikra either. I looked briefly at Harriers but the proportions are wrong so back to the Kite. It does have slight evidence of black on the shoulders, almost hidden. It might be just getting adult plumage or just finished moulting. There is a similat bird here http://www.mangoverde.com/wbg/index.html...

many thanks for valuable suggestions & info.
i was in doubt as in my previous spotting of black shouldered kite it has more horizontal posture and legs are covered with feathers. this spotting i thought of a shikra as posture is upright and eyes are more round with bare legs. i have posted one more spotting which is definitely of a shikra.

This is a Black-shouldered Kite, although the black shoulders are almost hidden in this one. A lot confusion exists with the naming of this and similar birds in Africa, Australia and other places. They were originally all one species (Elanus caeruleus) with various names including Black-winged and Black-shouldered Kite. The Australian bird was recently split away and given a separate name, Elanus axillaris, then confusion arose over the Common names. The final resolutution, though not accepted by all parties, is that the Australian bird will be called Australian Kite (Elanus axillaris) and the other will be called Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus). In India it has always been Black-shouldered Kite as it has been in most of the rest of Asia.

it does look like a white-tailed, but considering they are not found in asia, a black-winged kite is the closest we'll get, i think

White-tailed Kite ?