About 60% of humans now live in cities, placing the ‘urban’ in a central and defining role for human-animal relationships. Although cities of the Global South markedly differ from their western counterparts, poor research within the tropics precludes assessments for their urban ecological distinctions. To illustrate this case, we discuss how the pace of development and geography of cultural beliefs/practices in Delhi form ties with the ecological responses of animals thriving on human detritus. We studied the population, behaviour and movement ecology of a facultative scavenger, the Black Kite, at 32 sampling units (1 km2 each) that represent the urban gradient in the megacity. Our multivariate model for logistic distinction between nesting (1) and randomly chosen (0) trees was based on respective comparison of nest-level (micro) and landscape level (macro) covariates. It revealed how food-affording human activities and practices impacted habitat selection in kites. For nesting, breeding pairs took preference for those parkland/woodlots that were near densely populated areas in the city, thus, enabling easy access to predictable anthropogenic food subsidies. Notably, variations in breeding densities along the urban gradient arise from the availability of nesting sites and their proximity to anthropogenic food sources. We further explored if urban-infrastructure and human factors that mediated access to food-subsidies could also explain patterns in behavioural repertoires. The previous set of variables that elucidated habitat choice by opportunistic kite breeders that exploited human subsidies also explained ordinal patterns we identified in their offspring defense behaviour, concerning the conflicting choice of settlement near human habitations. Despite kites inflicting head injuries during the nesting period, our findings revealed a general empathetic and religiously tolerant attitude toward animals among Delhi’s citizens. Furthermore, GPS-tracking of kite movements revealed that South Asian cities are wintering destinations for massive flocks of Black-eared Kites that opportunistically consume human offal from landfills. In uncovering the complex geography of coexistence, we reveal the intricate links between politics, history, socio-economics, and urban planning across various spatio-temporal scales. These factors shape distinct habitat mosaics for urban animals, offering valuable insights into the ecology of tropical cities and their role in conserving urban biodiversity and wildlife management.