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6

Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) Alternate name(s): The name Black-shouldered Kite should be reserved for the Australian species, Elanus axillaris. German name(s): "Gleitaar" Size: 31-36 cm; wing span 76-88 cm Weight: 260 g (average)

Europe: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Lammergeier Eurasian Black Vulture Griffon Vulture Rueppell's Vulture Egyptian Vulture Osprey White-tailed Eagle Golden Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Short-toed Snake Eagle Bonelli's Eagle Booted Eagle Red Kite Black Kite European Honey Buzzard Common Buzzard Rough-legged Buzzard Long-legged Buzzard Western Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Montagu's Harrier Pallid Harrier Black-winged Kite Eurasian Sparrowhawk Gyrfalcon Peregrine Falcon Common Kestrel Merlin Eurasian Hobby Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black-winged Kites are small raptors. The two sexes look alike. Head, neck and underparts are all white to off-white, the rump and uppertail being light-grey. Also the inner underwings are white. The outer wings show prominent black triangles. The upperwings are grey, with a broad black shoulder patch on the leading edge, from the shoulders to the alulas. These show as broad black bars on the folded wings. Beneath prominent "eyebrows" the eyes have reddish irises. The short, downcurved bill is dark-grey, with yellow cere and gape. The legs and feet are orange-yellow. Juveniles can have an ochre-tinged breast and white edge lining on the wing feathers.

Taxonomy, classification See Booted Eagle 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 Black-winged Kite is available HERE . Black-winged Kites are a dispersive species of which there are 3 extant races. Their overall range extends from western Europe and Africa via the Middle East and Arabia into southern and south-eastern Asia, as far as South Korea, the Philippines, parts of Indonesia and New Guinea. Nominate race "caeruleus" populates part of the Iberian peninsula, most of sub-Saharan Africa, plus the north-western coastal strip and part of the Atlas mountain range and the lower Nile valley in northern Africa, parts of the Levant and southern Arabia, and some locations in southern Iran, up to the longitude of about the Strait of Hormuz. Race "vociferus" is present in an area spanning from Pakistan to East China, the Malay peninsula and Indochina. Race "hypoleucos" occurs on the Sunda islands, the Philippines, Sulawesi and New Guinea. In Europe the Black-winged Kite is usually found only on the Iberian peninsula, but there are occasional reports from western central Europe, from Iberia via France, Germany and the Benelux countries to Denmark and even southern Sweden, indicating a recent expansion of their range, possibly following the warming climate further northwards. Black-winged Kites have a preference for open, often grassy plains with scattered vegetation to provide nesting space and suitable perches.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "caeruleus" J. Pires reports finding Black-winged Kites, nominate race "caeruleus", semi-regularly in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, Portugal. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

Race "caeruleus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Black-winged Kite with its prey, a small bird (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Close-up Lateral view of a Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a Black-winged Kite looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2022]

Frontal view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Frontal view of a hovering Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Frontal view of a hovering Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2015]

Near-lateral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight with its prey, a small bird (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Lateral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2019]

Dorsal view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2022]

Ventral view of a Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuary, Zambujal, Portugal, March 2020]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of an immature Black-winged Kite with its prey; the underparts have already moulted, but the wings still show the white margins of juvenile feathers (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Frontal view of an immature Black-winged Kite with its prey looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Dorsal view of an immature Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Dorsal view of an immature Black-winged Kite (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Black-winged Kite; note the ochre things on breast and nape of the neck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Black-winged Kite in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Behaviour

Predators are territorial birds who will defend their territory against intruders, in particular competitors for food. They are dispersive in response to the appearance of rodents but, except for the southern tip of India, can breed throughout their range.

Aerial combat between a Black-winged Kite, bottom, and a female Common Kestrel (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2019]

Food, Diet

Action shot of a Black-winged Kite catching a small bird off-guard (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2017]

Near-lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite plucking its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite plucking its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite plucking its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Lateral view of an immature Black-winged Kite plucking its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

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.

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