Yellow-billed Kite

Description:

Medium sized bird of prey, but counts as a large kite - about 45 cm tall with a wingspan of 150 cm or more. Presents dark brown upperparts, with rufous underparts (chest, neck, and boots), with yellow legs. Yellow bill and reddish eye identify this (newly recognized) species from Black Kite.

Habitat:

The Yellow-billed Kite is a common Afrotropical species, here observed in and close to urban environment on shores of lake Awassa, in Ethiopia. Lake Awassa (or Hawassa) is a part of main Ethiopian Rift Valley series of lakes, situated at some 1700 m of altitude. Like most of Rift lakes in Ethiopian highlands, this is an endorreic lake (landlocked mass of water having no outlet and not connected to the sea), and as such surrounded by marshes that regulate its levels through evaporation. Because of marshes and its forested shores, the lake is known as birdwatcher's paradise - very rich with various waders. Unfortunately, many of these marshes, or at least those of an easy access to visitors are very polluted by plastic garbage - mainly plastic bottles and bags...

Notes:

Previously treated as a subspecies of Black Kite, Milvus migrans.