Interesting Bird Of Prey: Hawk? Falcon? Raptor?

The Mighty Shikra: An Indian Bird of Prey

Thought I would pass this on. Right before breakfast this morning, I looked out the window and saw one of these little guys sitting on the edge just outside the window. At first it stood with its feet forward and its head facing completely backwards and towards the ground below. After a few minutes it turned its whole body around, perhaps so that it could face the direction it was planning to fly. Then a few minutes later it flew away.

After taking some photos and video clips I performed a quick google search, and was able to identify the bird as the Shikra raptor.

The one I saw this morning had intensely red eyes. But for some reason my camera wasn't able to catch the brightness of the color through the window. You may want to see the full resolution images on my picasa page if you wish to have a clearer view.

First position

Second Position