Family Hawks, Eagles (Accipitridae)
Least Concern
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Taxonomy
French: Élanion à queue blanche German: Weißschwanzaar Spanish: Elanio maromero
Taxonomy:
Milvus leucurus
Vieillot
, 1818,Paraguay
.
Subspecies and Distribution
E. l. majusculus
Bangs & T. E. Penard, 1920 – W & S USA from Washington S to California and S Arizona, and S Texas E to S Florida (occasionally to South Carolina), and Mexico; also most of Central America S to Costa Rica (race uncertain).
E. l. leucurus
(Vieillot, 1818) – Panama and W & E Colombia E to the Guianas and N Brazil, S through Amazonia to Argentina (Chubut, Mendoza and Buenos Aires) and C Chile (Valdivia and Chiloé).
Descriptive notes
35–43 cm; 241–375 g; wingspan 88–102 cm. Above pale bluish grey with black shoulder, below white. Differs from allopatric E. caeruleus in underwing... read more
Voice
Generally silent. Most common calls are a short, weak, whistled “kewp” or “pju” used in contact by... read more
Habitat
Open or cleared agricultural or range lands, natural shrublands and grasslands, lightly wooded... read more
Food and feeding
Primarily mice and voles, but also other small mammals, occasionally birds, lizards and amphibians; 95–98% rodents, most weighing... read more
Breeding
Pairing starts in Jan in California; in Panama eggs in Dec, fledged young in Jun; nesting Feb–May in N South America; Sept–Nov... read more
Movements
Migratory or nomadic, when prey abundance declines; in California, one population stayed in a... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Seems to be increasing over much of range, especially from S Mexico to Panama, with Nicaraguan birds apparently of... read more
Traditionally thought to form a species-group with E. caeruleus and E. axillaris; all three sometimes considered conspecific, but differ variously in plumage, morphology and behaviour. Two subspecies recognized.