CreatureData

Black-shouldered kite

Elanus axillaris (Latham, 1801)

LCLeast Concernbirds of prey

The black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 249 g to 293 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris)
Photo: Frankzed from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-shouldered kite

Weight
249 g – 293 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
82 cm – 94 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.5 – 3.75src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

How big is the black-shouldered kite?

BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE · WINGSPAN 94 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 94 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the black-shouldered kite is about 55% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the black-shouldered kite live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The black-shouldered kite is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the black-shouldered kite?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris), also known as the Australian black-shouldered kite, is a small raptor found in open habitats throughout Australia. It resembles similar species found in Africa, Eurasia and North America, including the black-winged kite, a species that has in the past also been called "black-shouldered kite". Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in length, with a wingspan of 80–100 cm (31–39 in), the adult black-shouldered kite has predominantly grey-white plumage and prominent black markings above its red eyes. It gains its name from the black patches on its wings. The primary call is a clear whistle, uttered in flight and while hovering. It can be confused with the related letter-winged kite in Australia, which is distinguished by the striking black markings under its wings.

The species forms monogamous pairs, breeding between August and January. The birds engage in aerial courtship displays which involve high circling flight and ritualised feeding mid-air. Three or four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days. Chicks are fully fledged within five weeks of hatching and can hunt for mice within a week of leaving the nest. Juveniles disperse widely from their home territory. The black-shouldered kite hunts in open grasslands, searching for its prey by hovering and systematically scanning the ground. It mainly eats small rodents, particularly the introduced house mouse, and has benefitted from the modification of the Australian landscape by agriculture. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-shouldered kite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-shouldered_kite&oldid=1376818613), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-shouldered kite endangered?

The black-shouldered kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the black-shouldered kite classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusElanus
  7. SpeciesElanus axillaris (Latham, 1801)

Synonyms Elanus axillaris parryi, Elanus notatus, Falco axillaris

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • Australian black-shouldered kiteEnglish
  • Australian kiteEnglish
  • حدأة أسود الكتفينArabic
  • elani australiàCatalan
  • luněc australskýCzech
  • barcud ysgwydd-ddu AwstraliaWelsh
  • Australsk Blå GlenteDanish
  • AustralienaarGerman
  • Australischer GleitaarGerman
  • aŭstralia elanioEsperanto
  • Nigraŝultra milvoEsperanto
  • Elanio australianoSpanish
  • Milano australianoSpanish
  • austraalia hõbehaugasEstonian
  • australianliitohaukkaFinnish
  • Élanion d'AustralieFrench
  • Élanion d’AustralieFrench
  • דיה שחורת־כתףHebrew
  • australska lunjaCroatian
  • ausztrál kuhiHungarian
  • Nibbio spallebiancheItalian
  • Nibbio bianco australianoItalian
  • オアストラリアカタグロトビJapanese
  • オーストラリアカタグロトビJapanese
  • 검은죽지솔개Korean
  • australinis palšasis peslysLithuanian
  • Australische Grijze WouwDutch
  • Australische BastaardwouwDutch
  • australglenteNorwegian
  • kaniuk australijskiPolish
  • peneireiro-d'ombro-pretoPortuguese
  • Peneireiro-cinzento-australianoPortuguese
  • peneireiro-de-ombros-pretosPortuguese
  • Черноплечий коршунRussian
  • Черноплечий дымчатый коршунRussian
  • luniak striebristýSlovak
  • Australijska lunjaSerbian
  • svartskuldrad gladaSwedish
  • Ak çaylakTurkish
  • Avustralya Ak ÇaylağıTurkish
  • шуліка австралійськийUkrainian
  • gugurrukxdk
  • 澳洲鸢Chinese
  • 黑肩鳶Chinese
  • 黑肩鳶〔澳洲黑翅鳶〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-shouldered kite

Other species in the same genus Elanus.

CompareBlack-shouldered kite vs Black-winged kiteBlack-shouldered kite vs White-tailed kiteBlack-shouldered kite vs Letter-winged kite

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-shouldered kite?

An adult black-shouldered kite weighs 249 g – 293 g and has a wingspan of 82 cm – 94 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the black-shouldered kite live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the black-shouldered kite for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the black-shouldered kite endangered?

The black-shouldered kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black-shouldered kite?

The black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-shouldered-kite

MLA

“Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-shouldered-kite.

BibTeX
@misc{black_shouldered_kite_2026,
  title = {Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-shouldered-kite},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}