Mississippi kite
Ictinia mississippiensis (A. Wilson, 1811)
The mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 245 g to 311 g and live up to 9.58 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the mississippi kite
- Weight
- 245 g – 311 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 75 cm – 83 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 9.58 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the mississippi kite?
Photos of the mississippi kite
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the mississippi kite live?
Not recorded
What is the mississippi kite?
The Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Mississippi kites have narrow, pointed wings and are graceful in flight, often appearing to float in the air. It is common to see several circling in the same area.
From the Wikipedia article “Mississippi kite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mississippi_kite&oldid=1372900325), 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 mississippi kite endangered?
The mississippi 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 mississippi kite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusIctinia
- SpeciesIctinia mississippiensis (A. Wilson, 1811)
Synonyms Falco misisippiensis, Ictinia misisippiensis, Milvus cenchris
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- حدأة ميسيسيبيArabic
- حدأة الميسيسيبيArabic
- Мисисипска каняBulgarian
- elani del MississipíCatalan
- iktinie mississippskáCzech
- luňák mississipskýCzech
- barcud MississippiWelsh
- FalkeglenteDanish
- MississippiweihGerman
- Mississippi-WeiheGerman
- MississippibussardGerman
- misisipia milvoEsperanto
- Elanio ColinegroSpanish
- Elanio del MisisipiSpanish
- Elanio del MississippíSpanish
- Milano borealSpanish
- Milano de MisisipiSpanish
- Milano de MississippiSpanish
- põhja-noolhaugasEstonian
- sirkkahaukkaFinnish
- Buse du MississippiFrench
- Milan du MississippiFrench
- srebrnasta lunjaCroatian
- sólyomhéjaHungarian
- Nibbio del MississipiItalian
- nibbio del MississippiItalian
- ミシシッピートビJapanese
- misisipinis melsvasis peslysLithuanian
- Misisipi klījaLatvian
- Chʼiltaalkʼę́hé łigaaígííNavajo
- MississippiwouwDutch
- mississippiglenteNorwegian
- kanialuk jasnogłowyPolish
- sovi-do-nortePortuguese
- milhafre-do-mississípiPortuguese
- Sauveiro-do-nortePortuguese
- Миссисипский коршунRussian
- iktínia sivomodráSlovak
- Misisipska lunjaSerbian
- mississippigladaSwedish
- Missisipi ÇaylağıTurkish
- шуліка світлоголовийUkrainian
- 密西西比灰鳶Chinese
- 密西西比灰鸢Chinese
Relatives of the mississippi kite
Other species in the same genus Ictinia.
Plumbeous kite
Ictinia plumbea
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mississippi kite?
An adult mississippi kite weighs 245 g – 311 g and has a wingspan of 75 cm – 83 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mississippi kite endangered?
The mississippi kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the mississippi kite live?
The mississippi kite has a recorded lifespan of 9.58 years.
What kind of animal is the mississippi kite?
The mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) 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.
- 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). Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mississippi-kite
“Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mississippi-kite.
@misc{mississippi_kite_2026,
title = {Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mississippi-kite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}