# Black-winged kite (*Elanus caeruleus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-winged-kite  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 237 g – 268 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 83.4 cm |
| Lifespan | 6 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 26 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.5 |
| Age at maturity | 11.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Elanus
- species: *Elanus caeruleus* (Desfontaines, 1789)

Synonyms: *Elanus caesius*, *Falco caeruleus*, *Falco melanopterus*

## Countries on record

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.

Australia

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-winged-kite