WHITE-TAILED KITE Elanus leucurus

Family ACCIPITRIDAE - Subfamily Accipitrinae
Size: 15-16" . W. 3' 4" . A delicate, graceful, gull-like bird of prey. Largely white, with gray back, black patch on shoulder and undersurface of the pointed wing, and white tail. The back and breast of young birds are streaked with warm brown. Often dangles its feet in flight.
Habitat Open country and farmlands with scattered trees or fencerows; mesquite grasslands.
Eggs 4 or 5 white eggs, heavily spotted with brown, in a nest of sticks and twigs lined with grass and placed in a tall tree, usually near water.
Nesting Nests built in mature trees against trunk, supported by one or more large branches and generally shaded from above. Males may show a high degree of territory fidelity, with several old nests located within a small area. Height: 20 - 60 feet. Nest a substantial platform of large, often fresh, twigs broken from branches. Center lined with bark chips. Males assist in building the nest.

Range Resident in coastal and interior California, Arizona, and southern Texas. Also in American tropics.

Discussion The tame, elegant White-tailed Kite was formerly shot in large numbers by farmers who thought it threatened their chickens, although the birds feed almost entirely on insects and a few small rodents. The North American population was reduced to a pitiful remnant, and it was feared that the species might become extinct here. White-tailed Kites have since made a spectacular comeback in California and Texas and are now common in suitable lowland habitats. Like other kites, they are sociable outside the breeding season, congregating at roosts in groups of a dozen or more. They feed mainly on small rodents and insects, which they locate by hovering kestrel-like high in the air. These kites prefer to rest on treetops or other high lookouts.