Umang Dutt
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Explored @ #215 on 27 Jan 2009
Image taken at Thol, Mehsana, India . . . for more pics from this series visit picasaweb.google.com/umang.dutt/ImagesFromAndAroundThol#
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 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.
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 and Portugal. 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.
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Explored @ #215 on 27 Jan 2009
Image taken at Thol, Mehsana, India . . . for more pics from this series visit picasaweb.google.com/umang.dutt/ImagesFromAndAroundThol#
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 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.
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 and Portugal. 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.