How to Identify aWhite-tailed Kite
Elanus leucurus · 14.2–16.9 in (36–43 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Pale gray above, white below and on the head, with bold black shoulder patches and a white tail; red eye. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Zoipes at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia, Public domain · Second photo: Kevin Cole from Pacific Coast, USA / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Black shoulder patches on an otherwise pale bird
- Hovers in place with wings raised and tail fanned
- White tail with no bands
- Long pointed wings with black wrist marks below
Similar species
What it sounds like
A soft whistled "kewp" and a rasping scolding note.
Behaviour that gives it away
Hangs almost motionless on beating wings — kiting — for long stretches before dropping feet-first onto voles.
Habitat & range
Grassland, savanna, farmland and marsh edges in California, the Southwest and Gulf coast.
When you'll see it
Present all year in western, southwestern and southeastern North America.
What it eats
Voles and other small rodents caught after hovering.
Did you know?
Nearly shot out of existence in California by the 1930s, it recovered strongly once persecution stopped.
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