Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus)

Other Names (World)
Swallow-tailed Kite, American Swallow-tailed Kite

Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Size
56 - 66 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland moist forest. Also, subtropical and tropical montane moist forest, mangroves, dry frest. From sea-level - 1,800 m.

Range (Guide)

Anguilla (P), Antigua and Barbuda (P), Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados (P), Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica (P), Dominican Republic (P), Ecuador, French Guiana, Grenada (P), Guadeloupe (P), Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti (P), Honduras, Jamaica (P), Martinique (P), Mexico, Montserrat (P), Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (P), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (P).

Vagrant to Bermuda, Canada, Spain, Uruguay.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 150,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (32)...)

Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) [XC93821]
by Paul Marvin from Milpe, Pichincha, Ecuador (flight call)

Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) [XC712981]
by Bruce Lagerquist from Fort Drum Marsh, Indian River County, Florida, United States (call)

Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

forficatus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Coastal south-eastern USA to northern Mexico.
yetapa (Vieillot, 1818) - Southern Mexico (except Yucat�n) south through Central America (excluding El Salvador) to eastern Bolivia, Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina (Misiones).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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