White-Tailed Kite

White-Tailed Kite near Leola Marsh, Adams County, Wisconsin.  Photographed on September 30, 2013.

White-Tailed Kite

Binomial name: Elanus leucurus

Category: Hawks, Kites, Eagles, and Allies

Description: White with black shoulders and wingtips; elongated wings and tail.  Red eyes and yellow legs.

Size: 14” – 17” long, 35” – 40” wingspan

Weight: 8.8 oz. – 13 oz.

Habitat: Coastal areas, marshes, sparse woodlands, and grasslands

Diet: Rodents and other small mammals

Nesting: Both parents choose the nesting site and may participate in building the nest; sometimes only the female builds the nest.  The nest is typically in the top third of a tree and is shallow and made with twigs and grasses or leaves.  The female will lay an average of 4 eggs at a time, laying 1 brood per season.  The incubation period lasts 30 to 32 days and the young remain in the nest for about 35 days.

Notes: The White-Tailed Kite can hover in midair 80 feet above the ground without flapping its wings by facing into the wind.  This behavior is called “kiting,” thus the name White-Tailed Kite.  From this stationary position, the White-Tailed Kite will plunge straight down to retrieve its prey.

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