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Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ

Last time I was in India this bird was called a Black-shouldered Kite

The Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels. This Eurasian and African species was sometimes combined with the Australian Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) and the White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) of North and South America which together form a superspecies. This kite is distinctive, with long-wings, white, grey and black plumage and owl like forward-facing eyes with red irises.

The owl-like behaviour is even more pronounced in the Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus), a nocturnal relative in Australia. Although mainly seen on the plains, they are sometimes seen on grassy slopes of hills in the higher elevation regions of Asia. They are not migratory, but show nomadism in response to weather and food availability. They are well adapted to utilize periodic upsurges in rodent populations and can raise multiple broods in a single year unlike most birds of prey. Populations in southern Europe have grown in response to human activities, particularly agriculture and livestock rearing.

Bird of prey, raptor

A bird of prey, predatory bird, or raptor is any of several species of bird that hunts and feeds on rodents and other small animals. The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapere, meaning to seize or take by force. Birds of prey have keen vision that allows them to detect their prey during flight, as well as powerful talons and beaks.

Taken literally, the term bird of prey has a wide meaning that includes many birds that hunt and feed on animals and also birds that eat very small insects. Ornithology has a narrower definition of bird of prey: a bird that has very good eyesight for finding food, strong feet for holding food, and a strong curved beak for tearing flesh. Most birds of prey also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey.

An example of this difference in definition, the narrower definition excludes storks and gulls, which can eat quite large fish, partly because these birds catch and kill prey entirely with their beaks, and similarly bird-eating skuas, fish-eating penguins, and vertebrate-eating Kookaburras are excluded. Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the size of the bird. Most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures and condors eat carrion as their main food source.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Distribution and habitat
The Black-winged Kite is a species primarily of open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia, but it has a foothold within Europe in Spain and Portugal. The species range appears to be expanding in southern Europe and possibly in West Asia. The first records of breeding in Europe were in the 1860s and since then they have become more widespread and populations are on the rise. It is thought that land-use changes, particularly agriculture and pastureland have helped the species.

Several geographic populations have been named as subspecies and these include the nominate subspecies which occurs in Spain, Africa and Arabia. The subspecies vociferus is found east of this range across South Asia and into Southeast Asia. Along Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines subspecies hypoleucus (sometimes considered a full species) includes the population wahgiensis described from New Guinea. Subspecies sumatranus is not always recognized. The White-tailed Kite and the Black-shouldered Kite were formerly included with this species but have since been treated as separate species.

Although found mainly on the plains they have been seen at higher altitudes in Sikkim (3,650 m), the Nilgiris (Doddabetta, 2,670 m) and Nagaland (2,020 m).

They are said to be winter visitors in some parts of their range such as the Western Ghats.

Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ

Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Description
This long-winged raptor is predominantly grey or white with black shoulder patches, wing tips and eye stripe. The long falcon-like wings extend beyond the tail when the bird is perched. In flight, the short and square tail is visible and it is not forked as in the typical kites of the genus Milvus. When perched, often on roadside wires, it often adjusts its wings and jerks its tail up and down as if to balance itself. The sexes are alike in plumage.

Their large forward-facing eyes placed under a bony shelf that shades them is distinctive; their velvety plumage and zygodactyl feet are characters shared with owls and the genus has been considered as a basal group within the Accipitridae. They are thought to have been adapted for living in savanna habitats where seasonal rodent population peaks occur.

Such food resources are also favoured by the owls. The inner vanes of the feathers have velvety barbules. They have a diploid chromosome number of 68 (some older studies claimed 64 for E.c.caeruleus and 66 for E.c.vociferus) with a distinct karyotype with resemblances to the kites and honey buzzards and suggesting a basal position within the diurnal birds of prey.

Length: 37 cm
Wingspan: 77 - 92 cm
Weight: 197 - 343 g
Longevity: 6 years
Distinctive Feature

Similar Species



From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.
Female / Male / Juvenile

• Juvenile
- Dark grey back and shoulders with white feather tips
- Brownish crown
- Rufous-tinged breast
- Yellow eyes

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.


Listen to the Black-winged Kite



Remarks from the Recordist

Calling at start of recording, and twice further in the distance towards end. Alarm call? Heard after it flew away mobbing a falcon sp.

www.xeno-canto.org



Taxonomy
The Black-winged Kite was described by the French naturalist René Louiche Desfontaines in 1789 and given the binomial name Falco caeruleus. It is now one of four species in the genus Elanus which was introduced in 1809 by the French zoologist Jules-César Savigny. The word Elanus is from Ancient Greek elanos for a "kite". The specific epithet caeruleus is the Latin for “blue”

There are three subspecies:
• Elanus caeruleus caeruleus (Desfontaines, 1789) – southwest Iberian Peninsula, Africa, southwest Arabia
• Elanus caeruleus vociferus (Latham, 1790) – Pakistan to east China, Malay Peninsula and Indochina
• Elanus caeruleus hypoleucus Gould, 1859 – Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the Philippines, Sulawesi and New Guinea


Behaviour and ecology
The Black-winged Kite breeds at different times of the year across its range. Although nesting has been noted throughout the year in India, they appear not to breed in April and May. Males establish territories and defend them from competition. Females move into the territories of males.

Studies in Africa found that males were more numerous than females. Courtship is noisy and involves chases and once the pair is formed they copulate frequently. The nest is a loose platform of twigs in which 3 or 4 eggs are laid.

The female spends more effort in the construction of the nest than the male. The eggs are pale creamy with spots of deep red. Both parents incubate but when the chicks hatch, the male spends more time on foraging for food. Females initially feed the young, sometimes hunting close to the nest but will also receive food from the male.

After fledging the young birds continue to be dependent for food on the male parent for about 80 days, initially transferring food at perch and later in the air.

Young birds have reddish brown feathers on the upperparts and on the breast. The reddish colour is derived from porphyrins and is thought to provide the young birds some camouflage. Once breeding is complete females often move on to new territories sometimes deserting before the young fledge, leaving males to feed and raise the young. Both males and females show considerable nomadism.

Unlike most birds of prey, they are capable of raising multiple broods in a year, and young birds are known to disperse widely, adaptations that helps them utilize periodic rodent population surges. Their opportunistic breeding capabilities are also accompanied by irregular patterns of moult. Young birds show "arrested" moult, retaining feathers for a season and then rapidly moulting them in a serial descendent pattern, where more than one primary feather is moulted at the same time. The adult plumage is found after two years.

Their prey includes grasshoppers, crickets and other large insects, lizards, and rodents. Injured birds, small snakes and frogs have also been reported. The Black-winged Kite flies slowly during hunting like a harrier, but it will also hover like a Kestrel. It has on rare occasions been known to hunt prey in flight.

Perches are used for hunting and for feeding but large prey may sometimes be handled on the ground. In southern Africa, they appear to favour roadside verges for foraging and are sometimes killed by collisions with vehicles.

These birds roost communally with groups of 15 to 35 (larger numbers in Europe) converging at a large leafy tree. In northwest India, they tended to roost on thorny trees of Prosopis cineraria. They are extremely silent and the calls recorded include a high-pitched squeal or a soft whistle.

They call mainly during the breeding season and at the roost site. A species of nematode, Physaloptera acuticauda, has been recorded as a parasite of the species in South Africa. A trematode species, Neodiplostomum elani, has been described from a Black-winged Kite type host from Chandigarh. A feather louse Degeeriella elani is known from the species.

The soft feathers of Black-winged Kites can lead to adherence with some grass seeds which may be dispersed by the species. However such seeds can pose the risk of entangling their wings

Conservation status
Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net


Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 28 May 2022
Location: eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal, Suphan Buri



Your second bird is now Black-winged Kite, they were separated and are now two species, Black-shouldered is now, only in Australia.

This bird is identified by a helpful member of the www.birdforum.net. It didn't take long before I had the identity of the bird. So it might come in helpfull to join www.birdforum.net

And maybe, you will be able to help another member!

Bird forum


Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ
Black-winged Kite
28 May 2022 - eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal, Suphan Buri

Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ
Black-winged Kite
28 May 2022 - eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal, Suphan Buri

Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus, เหยี่ยวดำ
Black-winged Kite
28 May 2022 - eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal, Suphan Buri



PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook



       
                  



                                       

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