Swallow-tailed Kites are large but slender birds of prey that are most often seen hovering in the skies with their distinctive forked tail.
Males and females look similar and have white heads and underparts and black bills, flight feathers, tails, and feet. Their underwings are both black and white. Their long, forked tails resemble a swallow’s hence the name “swallow-tailed”.
Juveniles are paler in comparison and their tails are not that deeply forked.
- Elanoides forficatus
- Length: 19 – 25 in (48 – 64 cm)
- Weight: 15.6 oz (442 g)
- Wingspan: 45 – 50 in (114 – 127 cm)
Range
Swallow-tailed Kites are predominantly resident in South America but they breed around the Gulf Coast of the United States.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Swallow-tailed Kites in swamps, marshes, and humid, lowland forests. When nesting, look for them in tall trees around open areas with an abundance of small prey to feed their young.
Swallow-tailed Kites almost always spend their time in flight so it’s best to look skyward when looking for them. Also, summer is the best time to see them since they migrate to South America for the winter.
Swallow-tailed Kites are graceful, acrobatic hunters and they usually catch their prey mid-air. Insects like dragonflies, cicadas, wasps, bees, crickets, and beetles are their primary food. They also eat small snakes, frogs, lizards, and small birds when flying in from the treetops.
They eat their prey immediately during their flight. When catching prey to feed their mates and their young, they will usually carry the food item with their feet and then transfer it to their beaks to give to the female.
Swallow-tailed Kite Call:
Nests
Nests of Swallow-tailed Kites are often concealed by foliage in the tallest of trees in the forest. Both adults build a new nest each year and they bring materials like sticks, lichens, and moss to the nesting site. Other times, they may repair and reuse their old nesting site.
The female lays one to three eggs and incubation takes twenty-four to twenty-eight days. Not all young survive since sometimes the eldest chick will kill the younger, smaller sibling, particularly if there’s not enough food.
Fun Fact:
Swallow-tailed Kites are famous for their aerial acrobatics and they twist, turn, roll and dive whilst flicking their forked tail in pursuit of prey.
