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Kite is the common name for certain birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, particularly in the subfamilies Elaninae and Perninae and certain genera within Buteoninae. [1] The term is derived from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”), [ 2 ] possibly from the onomatopoeic Proto-Indo-European root * gū- , "screech."
The black kite was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux in 1770. [3] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [4]
The birds are considered one of the most graceful fliers seen in America and often spend the majority of their lives scouring high tree tops for lizards, small mammals, and insects. The morphology of the swallow-tailed kite's wing and tail structure allows the bird to glide effortlessly for long distances. [13] [14] [12]
Kites of all ages have red eyes and red to yellow legs. [7] Males and females look alike, but the males are slightly paler on the head and neck. Young kites have banded tails and streaked bodies. [8] The bird is 12 to 15 inches (30–37 cm) beak to tail and has a wingspan averaging 3 feet (91 cm). Weight is from 214 to 388 grams (7.6–13.7 oz).
The yellow-billed kite (Milvus aegyptius) is the Afrotropic counterpart of the black kite (Milvus migrans), of which it is most often considered a subspecies.However, DNA studies suggest that the yellow-billed kite differs significantly from black kites in the Eurasian clade, and should be considered as a separate, allopatric species.
Red Kite at Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Wales, a local feeding ground. The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds only in Europe, though it formerly also bred in west Asia and northwest Africa.
The white-tailed kite was described in 1818 by the French ornithologist, someone who studies birds, Louis Pierre Vieillot under the binomial name Milvus leucurus with the type locality as Paraguay. [3] It is now one of four species in the genus Elanus which was introduced in 1809 by the French zoologist Jules-César Savigny. [4]
The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely-related Australian species of the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels.