  A common,
grey and white raptor with a black shoulder. The upperparts are bluish grey, with black
wing coverts which appear as a distinctive, black shoulder patch. The underparts are
white. There is a small black mask around the eye. Young birds have a reddish-brown wash
on the head and breast and the feathers of the upperparts are tipped white. The bill is
short with a sharp, hooked tip to the upper mandible. The bill is black, while the feet
and legs, and the cere (skin at the base of the bill) are bright yellow. The eye is dark
red in adult black-shouldered kites and brownish-orange in immature birds.
Name: Elanus axillaris
Habitat: Although found in timbered country, they are mainly birds of the
grasslands.
Size: Length: 35 to 38 cm Wingspan: Between 80 and 95 cm.
Diet Description: Insects, rodents and small birds.
Socialisation: Able to hunt by hovering on upturned wings about 50 meters
above the ground. When prey is sighted, the kite "parachutes" gracefully
straight down into the grass. Black-shouldered Kites are highly nomadic - moving about in
search of prey.
Reproduction: Breeding occurs all year round with a peak in the summer months.
The nest is a small platform of sticks about 30cm in diameter, which is placed near the
top of a tree in a fork.
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