Profile
In flight
Birds of Prey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Elanoides forficatus
- uncommon
- 40 km/h
- Least Concern
Long forked tail, white head, hawks insects mid-air like a paper airplane that decided to hunt. Pure southern summer.
- Population
- ~260,000 mature individuals (global), apparently stable overall though the U.S. breeding population is small and geographically restricted
- Habitat
- Large tracts of wetland/riparian forest — cypress swamps, pine flatwoods, wooded river swamps, lake shores, and freshwater/brackish marshes near open foraging areas; nests in tall trees (18-40 m up)
- Fun fact
- The Swallow-tailed Kite feeds entirely in flight, using its deeply forked tail as a rudder to snatch insects, lizards, and even nestlings from foliage without ever landing.
- Range
- Breeds from the southeastern United States (mainly Florida and the Gulf Coast, historically north to Minnesota) south through Central America to eastern Peru and northern Argentina (two subspecies: northern E. f. forficatus and southern E. f. yetapa); U.S. and northern breeders migrate to South America in winter
- Diet
- Large flying insects (dragonflies, wasps, beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers) caught and eaten on the wing, plus snakes, lizards, frogs, small mammals (including bats), fish, and nestling birds/eggs, typically snatched from foliage or air without landing; also fruit in Central America
- Size
- 0.58 m
- Wingspan
- 1.22 m
