Bird name:

Swallow-tailed Kite

Elanoides forficatus

Order

FALCONIFORMES

Family

Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Code 4

STKI

Code 6

ELAFOR

ITIS

175289

Breeding Location:

Forest, Swamps, Marshes

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White with brown and lavender marks at large end

Number of Eggs:

2 - 3

Incubation Days:

24 - 28

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks, twigs, moss, and pine needles.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Swallow-tailed Kite: The largest of North America kites, this bird has black upperparts which contrast sharply with white head and underparts. In flight it shows long pointed wings with black flight feathers and white wing linings. Has a 15-16 inch-long black tail with a deep fork. Its neck, breast and belly are snow-white. Feet and bill are relatively small, tarsi short. Bill is black, cere dark bluish-gray, tarsi medium to light bluish-gray. Iris is dark brown or very slightly reddish-brown. Sexes are similar. Juvenile resembles adult, but flight feathers and tail are narrowly tipped with white, tail is shorter.

Range and Habitat

Swallow-tailed Kite: Breeds mainly on or near coasts from Texas east to Florida, and north to South Carolina; local farther inland in Gulf states. Winters in American tropics. Also breeds in tropics. Inhabits swamps, marshes, river bottoms, and glades in open forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Swallow-tailed Kite: Two to three white eggs with brown and lavender markings, often concentrated at the large end, are laid in a nest of sticks, twigs, moss, and pine needles. Nest is built by both sexes and placed in the treetop, 60-130 feet above ground, concealed by thick foliage. Nest is lined with leaves and lichen. Incubation ranges from 24 to 28 days and is carried out by both sexes. These birds have one brood per year.

Foraging and Feeding

Swallow-tailed Kite: This bird feeds on insects such as bees, dragonflies, crickets, cicadas, and beetles. Also consumes small snakes, lizards, frogs, and small birds, which are often taken from the treetops. All prey are captured with feet while in flight by gleaning from surface of vegetation, reaching within or underneath foliage, or snatching flying insects with barely perceptible strikes of the feet. Adults eat food while flying.

Vocalization

Swallow-tailed Kite: Utters shrill "ee-ee-ee" or "pee-pee-pee." When several fly together they make sweet shrill cries of "peat, peat, peat", "klee, klee, klee" or soft whistles.

Similar Species

Swallow-tailed Kite: Mississippi Kite is similar but has a slightly notched black tail and gray underparts and head.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cere

Also called the operculum, it is a smooth and featherless patch of skin located where the beak attaches to the forehead.

Flight feathers

Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America