Black-winged Kite
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| Elanus caeruleus Desfontaines, 1789 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Immature |
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Elanus caeruleus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
