White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Elanus ("kite") leucurus ("white-tailed")

Adult White-tailed Kite (subspecies E. l. majusculus) at Berkeley, California - August 2022

Featured Subspecies: Elanus leucurus majusculus
Weight: 250-380g  /  Length: 35-43cm  /  Wingspan: 88-102cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A bird which reaches the very Northern edge of it's range at southern peripheraries of the United States, most of its range, which is found throughout much territory between there and the Northern edge of Patagonia. They are primarily rodent hunters, and, like is not uncommon for species specialising in that, they can cover to allow them to spot prey.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Elanus
SUBSPECIES: E. l. majusculus, E. l. leucurus

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Found in coast adjacent parts of California, Texas, Oregon and Louisiana, and the Southern tip of Florida.
- CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

OTHER NAMES: Black Shouldered Kite (this is inaccurate: this properly refers to it's closely related Australian counterpart)

Latin Etymology: Elanus ("kite") caeruleus ("dark blue/cerulean")

                                                Adult Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) at Arrocampo, Spain - April 2016 

Featured Subspecies: Elanus caeruleus caeruleus

Weight: 290g  /  Length: 35-38cm  /  Wingspan: 31-37cm

NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

By far the smallest of the Kite species found in Europe, it is also by far the most localized, found only in the Western half of Spain, a segment of Portugal and apparently a small enclave in France.  That being said, this is a species with a huge if very patchy distribution; outside of Europe it is found across South and South East Asia and almost all of Sub-Saharan Africa, along with along the Nile in Egypt, some of the North African Coast and a segment of China.  It is a more active predator than the Black and Red Kites - sometimes hovering in an almost Kestrel like manner to detect prey, which consists of various small animals.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Elanus
Subspecies: E. c. caeruleus, E. c. vociferus, E. c. hypoleucus, E. c. wahgiensis

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ស្ទាំងលលក ("Dove hawk")

A resident.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One seen distantly at Florican Grassland Reserve

MALAYSIA - Malay - Helang Tikus - ("Mouse Eagle")

A fairly common resident in low densities

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Birds seen from motorways between Kuala Lumpur and Malacca

SPAIN - Spanish - Elanio Azul - ("Blue Kite")

Scarce and Local Resident

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen at Oropesa (1 adult, perched) and Arrocampo (1 adult, perched)

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .