Black-wing Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Measurements: 31-35cm long; wingspan 0.75-0.87m.

ID: Highly distinctive small (chunky Kestrel-sized) raptor of three colour shades. Not likely to be confused with anything else.

Hugely successful in Africa, India and other parts of Asia, the Black-winged Kite is a scarce species in Europe. It is only found in Spain and Portugal, although there have been a few recent breeding records in France, suggesting a northward expansion. Where it occurs one can easily imagine it as an African bird: it likes open plains dotted with trees, steppe, arid areas and riverside woodland, places where one might expect an elephant to walk by!

By Charles J. Sharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography.co.uk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67579026

The Black-winged Kite hunts mainly in flight, and it is most often encountered hovering, holding position on the spot with wings beaten rapidly and tail fanned. A distant bird may resemble a large grey Kestrel, although the Kite’s short tail makes its trailing talons look much more prominent. Once prey is sighted it will typically drop down, check, and hover closer to the target before the final plunge on to a small mammal, reptile or occasional bird. It will also fly low and straight over the ground, alternating soft flaps with low glides, its wings held up in a V. It can often look like an owl or harrier when doing this, especially when it hunts, as it often does, deep into the half-light of dusk.

Black-winged Kites live as pairs in a permanent year-round territory. Each year they build a new stick-nest on the branch of a tree, usually a thorny one. The birds will often perch by it and display, one raising its tail slowly upwards and down again; this signal also acts as threat.

From ‘Birds: A Complete Guide to All British and European Species’, by Dominic Couzens. Published by Collins and reproduced with permission.