Swallow-Tailed KiteTop
Striking black and white plumage Deeply forked tail Long, narrow pointed wings Medium-sized raptor (24" tall with 48" wing span) Graceful, gliding, soaring flyers - flaps rarely Habitat: Bottomland forests and nearby open lands (marshes, fields, and cutovers) Top |
The Swallow-Tailed Kite can be found in all tropical and sub-tropical areas of North, Central and South America. It is, in the most northerly and southerly parts of its range, migratory. Top
The most favoured food is large flying insects. It sometimes takes nestlings and
eggs, small lizards and snakes, wasp grubs, and small fish. Top
Voice
The sound most heard from this species is a high-pitched alarm call, `eee ' or
`kee ', repeated several times, or a high-pitched, hissing whistle. Top
Status and behaviour in the wild
The Swallow-Tailed Kite is the very epitome of graceful and sustained flight; the
forked tail, often spread, but frequently opened and closed like a scissors, helps in
manoeuvring. The size of this kite makes it more graceful in flight than smaller
fork-tailed species like terns and swallows. It is usually seen on the wing, coursing over
the country at various heights and often doing aerial gymnastics, especially during the
breeding season. It is sometimes seen perched, especially during heavy grey weather.
Although mostly a forest bird, it ranges over mixed country or even grasslands. It is a
social species, especially on migration, when it is often in the company of the Plumbeous
Kite. It tends to be a wanderer when not breeding.
The Swallow-Tailed Kite feeds on the wing. Insects are taken and eaten in flight. During
the nesting season this kite searches for, and robs, the nests of small birds. Sometimes
it carries away an entire nest, eating the fledglings as it flies along. It does not land,
but may flutter for a few moments while taking a nest. It eats eggs as well as nestlings,
and small lizards and arboreal snakes are also taken. It is social when feeding, as at
other times. It drinks from the surface of a pond in the style of a swallow. Top
Breeding behaviour
The nests, which are about fifteen or twenty inches across, about a foot in depth with an egg cup six inches across and four inches deep, are placed in the very tops of tall, slender, living trees, usually pines. Open areas of thin woods, or the edge of trails or openings are selected, and the site is exposed so the birds can approach unimpeded and drop to the nest. The nest is built with dead twigs, and lined with strands of moss or lichen, which may be brought long distances. Moss is added to the nest during incubation. The nests . Both sexes are active in all stages of the nesting cycle. One bird may remain at the nest after adding material, making its weak, high-pitched call if its mate is away too long. When leaving the nest the bird springs vertically for a few feet and returns gently the same way. Other kites are tolerated in the immediate area or even in the same tree, but do not participate in the nest activities. Other species of hawks are chased away. One of a pair, usually the female, remains at the nest and receives food for the young from the male. These visits are quite infrequent, considering the food is mostly insect. Two or three eggs are laid from mid-March to mid-April. As with some other kites there is a tendency towards social nesting: several pairs within a few hundred yards. Some nesting individuals, presumably hatched the preceding year, are not quite in fully adult feather. Top