The White-tailed Kite, formerly known as the Black-shouldered Kite, is a medium-sized raptor about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a small male Northern Harrier. It is a graceful, streamlined bird of open spaces, and from a distance it is so white that it could easily be mistaken for a gull. In shape it superficially resembles a falcon but has a longer, non-tapering tail and a light, more buoyant flight style. While hunting it commonly hovers with legs dangling, like an American Kestrel. It also hunts from perches, including power lines.
The White-tailed Kite, which has a nearly world-wide range, has been undergoing a steady range expansion in North America since the 1960s. Once so endangered that it was considered likely to become extinct in the United States, this species has now re-occupied much of its former California and Texas range, and is beginning to nest once again in Florida for the first time in over a century.
SIZE
Females and males are similar in size. The beak of the female averages slightly longer than the male. Total lengths range between 14 and 16 inches (35.6 and 40.6 centimeters). Wingspans range between 14.2 and 15.7 inches (36 and 40 centimeters). Weights range between 10 and 13 ounces ( 283.5 and 368.6 grams).
MORPHS
This species has no morphs and in North American and South America no unusual plumages have been reported.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Adult - Flight
- underparts white
- white underwings except for gray tips and small black "wrist" patch
- light gray back
- upper surface of wings is medium gray with black shoulders
- upper surface of tail is gray in center with white outer tail feathers
- under surface of tail is white
- tail is long and square tipped or slightly forked
Immature - Flight
- white underparts with rusty streaks on chest
- under wing surface pale with dark gray wing tips and diagnostic black "wrist" patch
- upper wing surface dark with pale feather edges
- dark brown to black shoulders
- upper surface of tail has gray center, whitish outer tail feathers and a gray subterminal band
SIMILAR SPECIES
The species most similar is the related Mississippi Kite which shares the same general size and shape as the White-tailed Kite, but in both adult and juvenile plumages has a dark gray or black tail (black and white banded in the juvenile). Adult Mississippi Kites also have gray, not white, underparts and show pale secondaries that contrast with medium gray shoulders and very dark wing tips.
The Peregrine Falcon shares a superficial similarity in size and shape but is always a generally dark bird, never whitish, and has barred underwings and a broader, shorter tail. The Peregrine lacks the black wrist marks of the underwings. The Gyrfalcon is also similarly shaped with pointed wings, but is streaked below and lacks the black wrist marks. The Prairie Falcon has black wing pits, not black wrist patches.
The Northern Harrier lacks pointed wings and has a banded tail (at least one band) and a conspicuous white upper tail coverts that contrasts with the darker color of the tail and back.
Several gulls are similar in size, shape, and color. None, however, shows the distinctive small black wrist patch of the underwing, or the black shoulders on the upperwing.
OTHER NAMES
The White-tailed Kite has recently reverted (1993) to the common and scientific names it was known by for most of the twentieth century. However, during the 1980s this bird was grouped with several other species of superficially similar kites of the Old World and was then called the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caerulus). In some parts of its range the White-tailed Kite is called the "White Hawk."
ETYMOLOGY
The scientific name Elanus leucurus translates into "kite" (Elanus - from Latin) that is "white-tailed" (leucurus - from Greek).
MYTHOLOGY
No North American mythology is available for the White-tailed Kite.
