Adults: Crown, whitish-grey. Back, rump, central pair of tail feathers, most of wing, light grey. Blackish around eye. Cere, yellow. Eye, deep red. Wing coverts, black, forming a distinctive shoulder patch. Underparts and remaining tail feathers, pure white. Bill, black. Legs, yellow.
Immatures: Like adult but wing and crown feathers edged white. Upperparts tinged brown. Underparts tinged rufous and slightly streaked. Eye, yellow. Bill, black. Legs, yellow.
Other Names (World)
Black-winged Kite, Black-shouldered Kite, Common Black-shouldered Kite
Black-winged Kite (Elanus) [XC352479]
by Jos\u00e9 Carlos Sires from espartinas, sevilla, andaluc\u00eda, Spain (call, flight call)
Black-winged Kite (Elanus) [XC360666]
by Jos\u00e9 Carlos Sires from espartinas, sevilla, andaluc\u00eda, Spain (call)
Nest
A loose platform of twigs and sticks.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 4; pale cream with deep red spots.. Incubation: by both sexes.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) and Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), and all sometimes considered conspecific. Subspecies hypoleucus has been considered separate species. Birds of Sumatra have been awarded separate subspecies, sumatranus, but validity doubtful.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
caeruleus (Desfontaines, 1789) - South-western Iberian Peninsula, most of Africa and south-western Arabia.
vociferus (Latham, 1790) - Pakistan east to southern and eastern China, Indochina and Malay Peninsula.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet