Letter-winged Kite

The Letter-winged Kite was originally described by ornithologist John Gould in 1842. Its specific name is Latin scriptum meaning written or marked.

The Letter-winged Kite is classified as Near Threatened (NT), is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

Letter-winged Kite is not usually sighted far beyond the channels of the northern Lake Eyre Basin. Image:BSK-2.jpg Hunting from a perch. Image:BSK-3.jpg Hovering: note the cupped wings and lowered tail. Image:BSK-4.jpg Dropping silently to take prey. Black-shouldered Kites live almost exclusively on mice. They take other suitably-sized creatures when available, including grasshoppers, rats, small reptiles, birds, and even (very rarely) rabbits, but mice and other mouse-sized mammals account for over 90% of their diet. More

The Letter-winged Kite is a small to medium-sized raptor (bird of prey). It has a white head, tail and underparts, and is mostly pale grey above. The female bird has a greyer crown. A distinctive black 'W' shape across the underside of its long, broad white wings gives the bird its name. When perching, it has an obvious black shoulder patch. Its large eyes, which are a bright red, are surrounded by black eye-patches, giving it an owl-like appearance. The legs are flesh-coloured. More

The Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive Australian raptor with a core range in central Australia. The adult is a small and graceful, predominantly pale grey and white, raptor with black shoulders and red eyes. It is similar in appearance to the Black-shouldered Kite except for a very distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ shape, seen when in flight. Roosting during the day in well-foliaged trees and hunting at night, it is the world's only fully nocturnal raptor. More

* Letter-winged Kite (c) P Waanders one in the nest tree, digiscoped Birdsville Track, South Australia, Australia (Monotypic species) Peter Waanders 20 November 2009 12 weeks ago 2 * Letter-winged Kite (c) P Waanders one flying near a small colony Birdsville Track, South Australia, Australia (Monotypic species) Peter Waanders 20 November 2009 12 weeks ago 2 Sounds 0 recordings More

Letter-winged Kite on post Letter-winged Kites perched Letter-winged Kite Letter-winged Kite- in flight Letter-winged Kite- at rest Letter-winged Kites Letter-winged Kite Letter-winged Kite Letter-winged Kite More

The Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive Australian raptor with a core range in central Australia. It is similar in appearance to the Black-shouldered Kite except for a very distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ shape, seen when in flight. It is largely nocturnal, roosting during the day in well-foliaged trees. The usual habitat of the Letter-winged Kite is semi-arid open, shrubby or grassy country. Its principal prey is the Long-haired Rat, Rattus villosissimus. More

The usual habitat of the Letter-winged Kite is semi-arid open, shrubby or grassy country. Its principal prey is the Long-haired Rat, Rattus villosissimus. When population numbers of this rodent build up, following good rainfall, the Kites are able to breed continuously and colonially so that their numbers increase in parallel. More