Kite, any of numerous birds of prey belonging to one of three subfamilies (Milvinae, Elaninae, Perninae) of the family Accipitridae. Typically, a kite is lightly built, with a small head, partly bare face, short beak, and long narrow wings and tail. Kites occur worldwide in warm regions. Some kites live on insects; others are primarily scavengers but also eat rodents and reptiles; and a few are strictly snaileaters. Kites are buoyant in flight, slowly flapping and gliding with wings angled back. Several species are as graceful as terns.
True kites, Milvinae, have rather narrow beaks, the upper mandible being wavy-edged. They are typified by the red kite (Milvus milvus)—of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East—and the black, or black-eared, kite (M. migrans)—found over much of the Old World. Both are large (to about 55 cm [22 inches]), reddish birds (the black kite darker), lightly streaked on the head, with long, angled wings and notched tail. The Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus; subfamily Milvinae) ranges from India to northeastern Australia. It is red-brown except for white foreparts. It eats fish and garbage. The buzzard kite (Hamirostra melanosternon; subfamily Milvinae) of Australia is a large black-breasted bird; it lives mainly on rabbits and lizards. It also eats emu eggs, reportedly dropping rocks on them to break the thick shells.
The snail kites, found only in the New World, also belong to the subfamily Milvinae. They have sickle-shaped beaks adapted to feeding on snails, their only food. Best known is the Everglade kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), now rare in Florida and Cuba but occurring in numbers in eastern Mexico, Central America, and most of eastern South America. It is a blackish or slate-coloured bird, about 50 cm long, with red eyes and white tail-base.
The swallow-tailed kite of the New World (Elanoides forficatus) is a striking black and white bird of the subfamily Perninae. It is about 60 cm long, including its long forked tail. It is most common in tropical eastern South America but also occurs from Central America to the United States.
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The swallow-tailed kite of Africa (Chelicti-nia riocourii) is a small gray and white bird of the subfamily Elaninae. It occurs from Nigeria to Somalia. The white-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus; subfamily Elaninae) occurs from Argentina to California, where it is one of the few North American raptors increasing in number. It is gray with a white tail, head, and underparts and conspicuous black shoulder patches. It eats rodents. Similar kites of the genus Elanus occur in tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia. For kites called cuckoo falcons, seefalcon.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.