Whistling kite
Haliastur sphenurus (Vieillot, 1818)
The whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 650 g to 845 g and live up to 10.9 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the whistling kite
- Weight
- 650 g – 845 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.2 m – 1.46 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 36.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the whistling kite?
Photos of the whistling kite
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.
Where does the whistling 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 whistling 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 whistling kite?
The whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus) is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia (including coastal islands), New Caledonia and much of New Guinea (excluding the central mountains and the northwest). Also called the whistling eagle or whistling hawk, it is named for its loud whistling call, which it often gives in flight. Some authorities put this species in the genus Milvus, despite marked differences in behaviour, voice and plumage between this species and other members of that genus.
It is one of three birds that intentionally sets or spreads fires to catch prey. The other two are the black kite and brown falcon.
From the Wikipedia article “Whistling kite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whistling_kite&oldid=1375762951), 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 whistling kite endangered?
The whistling 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 whistling kite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusHaliastur
- SpeciesHaliastur sphenurus (Vieillot, 1818)
Synonyms Haliastur sphenurus, Haliastur sphenurus sphenurus, Milvus sphenurus
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- Whistling eagle-kiteEnglish
- bwaaholeebwa
- milà xiuladorCatalan
- luňák hvízdavýCzech
- barcud chwibanogWelsh
- FløjteglenteDanish
- KeilschwanzweihGerman
- KeilschwanzmilanGerman
- KeilschwanzweiheGerman
- fajfa milvoEsperanto
- Milano silbadorSpanish
- vile-purihaugasEstonian
- viheltäjähaukkaFinnish
- Milan siffleurFrench
- lunja zviždaraCroatian
- Nyílfarkú kányaHungarian
- Elang siulIndonesian
- Nibbio fischiatoreItalian
- フエフキトビJapanese
- švilpiantysis peslysLithuanian
- WigstaartwouwDutch
- plystreglenteNorwegian
- kania złotawaPolish
- milhafre-assobiadorPortuguese
- Коршун-свистунRussian
- haja hvízdaváSlovak
- Zviždeća lunjaSerbian
- visselgladaSwedish
- Islıkçı ÇaylakTurkish
- шуліка-свистунUkrainian
- 啸鸢Chinese
- 嘯栗鳶Chinese
Relatives of the whistling kite
Other species in the same genus Haliastur.
Brahminy kite
Haliastur indus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the whistling kite?
An adult whistling kite weighs 650 g – 845 g and has a wingspan of 1.2 m – 1.46 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the whistling kite live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the whistling kite for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the whistling kite endangered?
The whistling kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the whistling kite live?
The whistling kite has a recorded lifespan of 10.9 years.
What kind of animal is the whistling kite?
The whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus) 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). Whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/whistling-kite
“Whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/whistling-kite.
@misc{whistling_kite_2026,
title = {Whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/whistling-kite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}