Kite Information and Species Listing ... Kites Photo Gallery
Birds of Prey ... The Sport of Falconry
The Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers.
This species was formerly referred to as the Black-shouldered Kite, but this name is now used for the Australian species, Elanus axillaris, at one time (along with the American White-tailed Kite E. leucurus) treated as a subspecies of E. caeruleus.
Distribution / Range
It is a species primarily of open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia, but it has a foothold in Europe in Spain.
It nests in trees.
Diet / Feeding
It takes live prey such as small mammals, birds and insects. The slow hunting flight is like a harrier, but it will hover like a Kestrel.
Description
This bird is unmistakable. It has a white head with a black "mask", and white underparts except for black tips to its narrow falcon-like wings. Upperparts are blue-grey except for black shoulder patches.
The tail is short and square, quite unlike the more familiar Milvus kites.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from ... Additional information and photos added by Avianweb.
Please Note: The articles or images on this page are the sole property of the authors or photographers. Please contact them directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Thank you.