Black-winged Kite

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Black-winged Kite
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Elanus Species: E. caeruleus
Binomial name
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 only used for the Australian species, Elanus axillaris, which at one time (along with the American White-tailed Kite E. leucurus) was treated as a subspecies of E. caeruleus.

[edit] See also

• Black Kite
• Red Kite
• Black-shouldered Kite
• White-tailed Kite

[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

[edit] Gallery

near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	Hovering near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	Hovering near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	Hovering near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.
near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	Adult	Immature