Black-winged kite
Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines, 1789)
The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also called the Black-shouldered kite, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a small, carnivorous bird with an aerial lifestyle that lives in grassland, weighing 259.8 g, from 237 to 268 g, with a wingspan of 83.4 cm.
Quick facts about the black-winged kite
It lays 3.5 eggs per clutch and 1.5 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 26 days and sexual maturity at 363.5 days. The species is partially migratory, is recorded in Australia, has a range of 26,690,000 km², and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 237 g – 268 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 83.4 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- 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-winged kite?
Photos of the black-winged kite
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black-winged 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-winged kite is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the black-winged kite?
The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely related Australian species of the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels. This Palearctic and Afrotropical species was sometimes combined with the Australian black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris) and the white-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus) of North and South America which together form a superspecies. This kite is distinctive, with long wings; white, grey and black plumage; and owl-like forward-facing eyes with red irises. The owl-like behaviour is even more pronounced in the letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus), a nocturnal relative in Australia. Although mainly seen on plains, they are sometimes seen on grassy slopes of hills in the higher elevation regions of Asia. They are not migratory, but show nomadism in response to weather and food availability. They are well adapted to utilize periodic upsurges in rodent populations and can raise multiple broods in a single year unlike most birds of prey. Populations in southern Europe have grown in response to human activities, particularly agriculture and livestock rearing. It is now present in Southwest France.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-winged kite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-winged_kite&oldid=1373474901), 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-winged kite endangered?
The black-winged kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- 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-winged kite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusElanus
- SpeciesElanus caeruleus (Desfontaines, 1789)
Synonyms Elanus caesius, Falco caeruleus, Falco melanopterus
Other names and names in other languages (90)
- Black-shouldered kiteEnglish
- BWKIEnglish
- BlouvalkAfrikaans
- Blouvalk (Blouvalkie)Afrikaans
- BlouvalkieAfrikaans
- حدأة سوداء الجناحArabic
- حداه سوداء الجناحEgyptian Arabic
- elanuAsturian
- Bozumtul çalağanAzerbaijani
- Пепелява каняBulgarian
- Пепелява каничкаBulgarian
- কালো ডানা চিলBangla
- Elan glasBreton
- esparver d'espatlles negresCatalan
- luněc šedýCzech
- barcud ysgwydd-dduWelsh
- Blå GlenteDanish
- GleitaarGerman
- ΈλανοςGreek
- Nigraflugila milvoEsperanto
- nigraflugila elanioEsperanto
- Elanio azulSpanish
- Elanio comúnSpanish
- Milano de alas negrasSpanish
- hõbehaugasEstonian
- Elano urdinBasque
- کورکور بال سیاهPersian
- liitohaukkaFinnish
- SinihaarahaukkaFinnish
- Élanion blacFrench
- Elanion BlancFrench
- Élanion blancFrench
- Milan à épaulettes noiresFrench
- Cúr dubheiteachIrish
- Peneireiro cincentoGalician
- કપાસીGujarati
- דאה שחורת-כתףHebrew
- דאה שחורת כתףHebrew
- crnokrila lunjaCroatian
- kuhiHungarian
- Feketeszárnyú kuhiHungarian
- Elang tikusIndonesian
- VölsungurIcelandic
- Nibbio biancoItalian
- カタグロトビJapanese
- 검은어깨매Korean
- 검은날개솔개Korean
- 검은죽지솔개Korean
- Tuyukwn
- paprastasis palšasis peslysLithuanian
- melnplecu klījaLatvian
- PapangofotsyMalagasy
- വെള്ളി എറിയൻMalayalam
- വെള്ളി എറിയന്Malayalam
- कापशी घारMarathi
- Burung Lang TikusMalay
- Grijze WouwDutch
- svartvingeglenteNorwegian
- କପାସୀ ଚିଲOdia
- Kaniuk zwyczajnyPolish
- KaniukPolish
- kaniuk (zwyczajny)Polish
- چٹی الWestern Panjabi
- peneireiro-cinzentoPortuguese
- Gaie cenuşieRomanian
- Дымчатый коршунRussian
- Чернокрылый дымчатый коршунRussian
- ČáhppessoadjahávutNorthern Sami
- luniak sivýSlovak
- lebduhSlovenian
- sinji lebduhSlovenian
- RukodziShona
- Phakoana-mafieloanaSouthern Sotho
- Bela lunjaSerbian
- Siva lunjaSerbian
- LohheyaneSwati
- svartvingad gladaSwedish
- Mwewe-kipupweSwahili
- சிறிய கரும்பருந்துTamil
- Siria Karum ParundhuTamil
- เหยี่ยวขาวThai
- Ak ÇaylakTurkish
- PhakalaneTswana
- NwarikapanyanaTsonga
- шуліка чорноплечийUkrainian
- Diều trắngVietnamese
- UmdlampukuXhosa
- 黑翅鸢Chinese
- 黑翅鳶Chinese
- 黑翅鳶〔黑肩鳶〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black-winged kite
Other species in the same genus Elanus.
Black-shouldered kite
Elanus axillaris
White-tailed kite
Elanus leucurus
Letter-winged kite
Elanus scriptus
CompareBlack-winged kite vs Black-shouldered kiteBlack-winged kite vs White-tailed kiteBlack-winged kite vs Letter-winged kite
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black-winged kite?
The black-winged kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is also called the Black-shouldered kite.
How big is the black-winged kite?
The black-winged kite weighs 259.8 g, with reported values from 237 to 268 g, and has a wingspan of 83.4 cm. It falls in the small size class.
What does the black-winged kite eat?
The black-winged kite is a carnivore.
Is the black-winged kite endangered?
No. The black-winged kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the black-winged kite live?
The lifespan given for the black-winged kite is 6 years.
How many eggs does the black-winged kite lay?
The black-winged kite lays 3.5 eggs per clutch and 1.5 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days.
Who named the black-winged kite?
The black-winged kite, Elanus caeruleus, was named by (Desfontaines, 1789).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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.
CreatureData. (2026). Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-winged-kite
“Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-winged-kite.
@misc{black_winged_kite_2026,
title = {Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-winged-kite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}