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6

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) Size: 30-36 cm; wing span 85-100 cm Weight: 280-300 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Letter-winged Kites are small raptors with white, grey and black plumage. The front (i.e., head, throat, breast, belly and vent) are all white, except for a small black eye patch. The back (nape of the neck, mantle, tail) is grey, while the wings are grey, with a black shoulder patch. The eyes are conspicuously red, the bill grey and the leg and feet yellow, with black talons. The underwing shows white coverts, grey flight feathers and a black patch at the base of the primaries, which are darker grey than the rest of the wings. Juvenile Letter-winged Kites have a brown cap and breast and scalloped upperwings. Twitcher's tip The only difference between Letter-winged Kites and Black-shouldered Kites visible from a distance is the underwing pattern of a black "W" on the coverts instead of black-tipped wings. Upon closer inspection, the black patches around the eyes of Black-shouldered Kites extend behind the eyes, those of Letter-winged Kites don't. In addition, Letter-winged Kites have whitish legs and feet, those of Black-shouldered Kites are yellow.

Taxonomy, classification See Letter-winged Kite at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Letter-winged Kite is available HERE . NB: Reports on ebird of birds submitted by birdwatchers from the Australian Outback tend to be clustered along roads and public areas such as camp grounds; in such cases their distribution is not a good representation of the overall distribution of the species. Letter-winged Kites are endemic to Australia. Their core habitat (during the breeding season) is in the semi-arid part of western QLD and the eastern NT, more than 200 km South of the Gulf of Carpentaria, to about Innamincka. Outside the breeding season they disperse in all directions (except the area spanning from Arnhemland in the NT, a fringe of about 200 km width around the Gulf of Carpentaria and all of Cape York peninsula), especially north-eastward to the tropical North of the NT. Given the right conditions (availability of prey, in particular Long-haired Rats) they can disperse further to anywhere else on the continent (but not Tasmania). Letter-winged Kites hunt in a range of habitats, from desert to grassland, and along inland water courses.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Letter-winged Kites are much less common in the region of Narrabri, NSW, than Black-shouldered Kites, but have been seen by us near Narrabri, NSW, at least once, 25 km South-west of town, in February 2006. A pair with a juvenile was spotted by us near Wilcannia, NSW, in March 2008. M. Mearns reports finding Letter-winged Kites at Diamantina NP, QLD, in August 2019. In June 2022, M. Eaton found 2 pairs of Letter-winged Kites nesting in the same tree along the Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA. Another nesting pair was found along the Birdsville Development Road, QLD, in September 2022.

Photos

ADULT

The birds for which a putative sex is given below were not sexed by their appearance, but by their previously recorded behaviour. Females are the primary carers of young, while males stay near the nest but don't usually incubate or brood the clutch.

MALE

Full-frontal portrait of a (presumably male) Letter-winged Kite that was found near an active nest, but not brooding the young (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Full-frontal view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged; note the clean front (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Near-frontal view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Near-lateral view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Lateral view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged Kite looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Lateral view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged Kite (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Near-dorsal portrait of a (presumably male) Letter-winged Kite (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a (presumably male) Letter-winged (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a (presumably female) Letter-winged Kite waiting nearby while its nest is being inspected; note the soiled front
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Letter-winged Kites (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a pair of Letter-winged Kites, one now issuing alarm calls (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Sex unknown

Close-up lateral view of a Letter-winged Kite (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a Letter-winged Kite staring down the observer
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Letter-winged Kite perched on a tree top (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Diamantina NP, QLD, August 2019]

Direct comparison between a Black-shouldered Kite, left, and a Letter-winged Kite, right - note the differences in the black eye patch and the colour of the legs/feet; the difference in the appearance of the upperwing patch may be a projection effect
(photos courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Diamantina NP, QLD, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight being harassed by a corvid (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Lateral/ventral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Ventral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Ventral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Ventral view of a Letter-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up lateral view of a sub-adult Letter-winged Kite - note the rufous wash on the upperparts; the streaking on the forehead may be blood; although this bird does not have "typical" adult plumage yet, it was one in a mated pair, see photos above (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a sub-adult Letter-winged Kite (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a sub-adult Letter-winged Kite issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Dorsal view of a sub-adult Letter-winged Kite (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: (after rain)

Eggs: 3 - 6

Incubation period: 25 - 36 days

Fledging age: 30 - 35 days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

Letter-winged Kites are specialists for living in the Red Centre of the Australian continent. As such, they do not have a seasonal breeding cycle, like all other species, but are purely opportunistic breeders based on when prey (Long-haired Rat) is abundant. Once conditions are good, 2-50 pairs can breed semi-colonially. They can have up to several broods in a row, building a new nest for each (because of the danger of parasites taking a hold).

Twitcher's tip

Note that, by the time they fledge (i.e., leave their nest), the young of all species of raptors - apart from the tail and wing feathers (which are still growing) - are already full adult-size.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks; green leaves

Height above ground: 5? - 20? m

Nests are usually built high up in the canopy of a live tree, often in Beefwood (Grevillea striata).

Overview of the location of a Letter-winged Kite nest in an essentially dead tree (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

(Presumably female) Letter-winged Kite on its nest in an essentially dead tree (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

View into a Letter-winged Kite nest with downy chicks inside (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

(Presumably female) Letter-winged Kite waiting nearby while its nest is being inspected; note the soiled front
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Development Road, QLD, September 2022]

One of two Letter-winged Kite nests in the top of a live tree (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Second of two Letter-winged Kite nests in the top of a live tree (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Overview of the location of a Letter-winged Kite nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Strzelecki Track, 20 km N of Montecollina Bore, SA, June 2022]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 42 x 32 mm

Colour: Creamy, with very dense dark-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

The Letter-winged Kite is special, because it is the only fully nocturnal raptor from the hawk family (i.e. not related to the owls, nightjars or frogmouths.

Letter-winged Kites are also special because highly reliant on the Long-haired Rat (Rattus villosissimus) for food. This is the reason for the species' eruptive behaviour, when breeding up and following their prey. The core range of the Long-haired Rat extends throughout western QLD into the NT and eastern SA and, to a lesser degree, to far-western NSW. The Letter-winged Kite's core range is western QLD, primarily around Mt. Isa, extending into the NT, eastern SA and western NSW depending on the availability of prey. Usually, both species find times of plenty after significant inland rain events.

Food, Diet

Adults: Long-haired Rats

Dependents: As adults

Water intake: None

All raptors are carnivores. Letter-winged Kites have a strong preference for Long-haired Rats, Rattus velocissimus.

During the first few weeks, raptors feed their chicks with pieces of meat. Later on in their development, the chicks learn to tear apart their parents' prey.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

letkite_me_20220610.m4a

(NE SA)

Alarm calls (humans near nest)

© ME

More Letter-winged Kite sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 26 September 2022, 21:39 +00:00