Black-winged Kite

Latin Name: 
Elanus caeruleus
Category: 
Size: 
32cm
Description: 

Sexes alike. Pale greywhite plumage, whiter on head, neck and underbody; short black stripe through eye; black shoulder-patches and wing-tips distinctive at rest and in flight; blood-red eyes. Young: upper body tinged brown, with pale edges to feathers. Usually solitary or in pairs; rests on exposed perch or flies over open scrub and grass country; mostly hunts on wing, regularly hovering like a kestrel to scan ground; drops height to check when hovering, with legs held ready.

Habitat: 
open scrub and grass country; light forest.
Food: 
insects, lizards, rodents, snakes.
Distribution: 
subcontinent, up to about 1,500m in outer Himalaya.
Call: 
Call Description: 
high-pitched squeal.
National Status: