Swallow-tailed Kite

The Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) is legendary among birders for its sheer elegance and unrivaled aerial maneuverability. Sporting a striking contrast of pristine white and deep black feathers, this raptor spends most of its daylight hours on the wing, effortlessly riding thermals and swooping low over the canopy. Once nesting across much of the midwestern and southeastern United States, its North American breeding range has contracted to the coastal plains of the Southeast. However, its global population remains stable thanks to extensive breeding populations throughout Central and South America.

There is no other raptor in North America with a silhouette quite like the Swallow-tailed Kite. Key field marks include:

• Silhouette: Extremely long, pointed wings and an incredibly long, deeply forked tail that opens and closes like scissors.
• Coloration: Clean white head, neck, chest, and underwing coverts, contrasted sharply with a slate-black back, rump, tail, and flight feathers.
• Flight style: Incredibly buoyant, fluid, and seemingly effortless. They rarely flap their wings, instead steering using subtle twists of their long tail.

Similar Species:

• Mississippi Kite: Lacks the deeply forked tail, is noticeably smaller, and possesses a mostly gray body.
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Also has a deeply forked tail but is a much smaller songbird (not a raptor) with pale gray plumage and warm pinkish flank washes.

Swallow-tailed Kites require a mix of tall trees for nesting and open areas for foraging. During the breeding season in the United States, they are found in:

• Bottomland hardwood swamps and major river corridors.
• Cypress swamps and wet pine flatwoods adjacent to open marshes.

Migration: These kites are remarkable long-distance migrants. In late summer (usually August), they gather in large pre-migratory roosts in Florida before making an incredible journey across the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean to their wintering grounds in South America, primarily southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.

Feeding: Swallow-tailed Kites feed almost exclusively on the wing. They glide low over the tree canopy to snatch prey from the topmost branches or pluck flying insects out of midair. Upon catching an item, they curl their feet forward to consume it while continuing to fly. Their diet consists of cicadas, dragonflies, tree frogs, anoles, snakes, and occasionally nestling birds.

Nesting: Kites nest in loose colonial neighborhoods, often placing their nests in the very tops of the tallest trees in a stand, such as loblolly pines or bald cypresses. The nest is a robust cup of twigs lined with Spanish moss and lichens, constructed by both sexes.

Vocalizations: These raptors are relatively quiet but emit high-pitched, thin, whistling notes—often transcribed as a rapid, chirping klee-klee-klee or whee-whee-whee—primarily when alarmed near the nesting site or during courtship displays.