Black-Shouldered Kite

Description:

Black-shouldered Kites are around 35 to 38 cm in length (13.8 to 15 in) and have a wingspan of between 80 and 95 cm (31.5 to 37.4 in) and an average weight of 291 grams (10.26 oz). Adults are a very pale grey with a white head and white underparts. The leading edge of the inner wing is black. When perched, this gives them their prominent black "shoulders". They have red eyes, with a black 'comma' that extends behind the eyes. They have a squared tail and a streamlined aerodynamic body. The bill is short with a sharp, hooked tip to the upper mandible. Their nostrils and the cere (skin at the base of the bill) are bright yellow and the bill is black. The legs and feet are also yellow, and the feet have three toes facing forwards and one toe facing backwards.[9] The sexes are similar, with females only just larger than males, although they can be up to 15% heavier

Habitat:

Though reported across Australia, they are most common in the south-east and south-west corners of the mainland. Their preferred habitat is open grasslands with scattered trees and they are often seen hunting along roadsides. Like all the elanid kites, it is a specialist predator of rodents, which it hunts singly or in pairs by hovering in mid-air above open land.