Alternate name: American Swallow-tailed Kite; for the species Chelictinia riocourii, see Scissor-tailed Kite
- Elanoides forficatus
Identification
Length: 52–66 cm (20½-26")
Striking black and white plumage with deeply forked tail is unique among raptors. Head, neck, underside, underwing coverts are white. Back, upperwing coverts, and all rectrices and remiges are black. Feet and bill are small, tarsi short. Bill is black with dark gray cere. Head has a small dove-like appearance. Iris is dark brown. Sexes alike.
Similar Species
Immature Magnificent Frigatebird is mostly black with white limited to head and chest. It also has much longer head, bill, and wing. Light morphs of Short-tailed Hawk and Swainson's Hawk have similar color pattern but lack the long forked tail.
Distribution
North, Central and South America. In North America breeds in mainly coastal areas from South Carolina south to Florida and along the Gulf Coast into eastern Mexico. More common and widespread in Central America south to Panama and in South America from Colombia and Venezuela (rare in Trinidad) south to northern Argentina. Formerly more widespread in North America breeding as far north as Minnesota.
Northern birds are summer visitors and migrate in large flocks to winter in South America. Occasionally wanders north to the Great Lakes and New England.
The only accepted record for the Western Palearctic is of a bird in the Canary Islands in 1993 although there are other more doubtful records from elsewhere including Britain.
Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA, 11 April 2009
Taxonomy
Formerly placed in the genus Milvulus.
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species[1]. Two subspecies recognized with the nominate race averaging larger:
- E. f. forficatus: Lowlands of coastal se US to n Mexico.
- E. f. yetapa: S Mexico (except Yucatán Peninsula) to Brazil and ne Argentina
Habitat
Open woodland and forest often near rivers and lakes. In the USA often occurs in cypress swamps and open pinewoods. On the U.S. Gulf Coast best place to observe swallow-tailed kites is in the air above wooded riparian corridors. One such place is Liberty-Dayton, Texas.
Behaviour
Breeding
Nest is a flimsy, shallow cup of twigs lined with Spanish moss placed high (>30 m) in the crown of a tall tree. Several pairs may nest in close proximity. Clutch size is 2 or 3 white eggs with bold brown markings. Both parents incubate eggs and feed young.
Diet
Insects (termite and ant swarms), lizards, snakes, tree frogs, bird eggs and nestlings, and occasionally fruit. Constantly soars, capturing insect prey and feeding on the wing, or snatching prey from treetops, which it often consumes in flight. Does not hover.
Vocalisations
Usually silent. Most vocal during display flights around nest. Calls consist of variations on a single short rising and falling note. Female's calls average higher pitched than male's.
Movements
Migratory in the north and south of range. Also local movements, including attitudinal shifts during the non-breeding season in Central and South America.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Meyer, K. D. (1995). Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.138
- Bierregaard, R.O., Jr & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52963 on 3 January 2019).
- Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 3 Jan. 2019
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Swallow-tailed Kite. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swallow-tailed_Kite
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
