Elanus leucurus
The White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) is a strikingly elegant raptor, instantly recognizable by its ghost-like white plumage, pale grey back, and prominent black shoulder patches. Measuring 35-43 cm (14-17 in) in length with a wingspan of 99-109 cm (39-43 in), it possesses slender, pointed wings and a distinctively long, deeply forked white tail, often fanned during its characteristic hovering flight. Its bright red eyes add a piercing intensity to its delicate appearance, while the black c...
White-tailed Kites prefer open grasslands, savannas, agricultural fields, and wetlands, usually at low to moderate elevations, provided there are scattered trees or tall shrubs for nesting and communal roosting. They particularly favor areas with high rodent populations and adjacent woodlands.
White-tailed Kites are specialist predators, primarily feeding on small mammals, especially voles and mice, which constitute over 90% of their diet. They occasionally supplement this with large insects, lizards, and small birds, captured using their characteristic hover-and-pounce technique.
White-tailed Kites are predominantly diurnal, with peak hunting activity often occurring during early morning and late afternoon, and sometimes extending into crepuscular hours. Outside the breeding season, they form communal roosts, sometimes numbering dozens of individuals, in dense groves of t...
The White-tailed Kite exhibits a widespread Neotropical distribution, with its range extending from the western and Gulf Coasts of North America through Central America and much of South America. In North America, it breeds year-round along the coastal plains of California, southern Oregon, and i...
Least Concern
- The White-tailed Kite is renowned for its distinctive, almost motionless hovering flight, appearing to hang in the air like a small, white ghost before plummeting to catch prey. - Historically rare and once considered endangered in California, its population has made a remarkable recovery and e...