White tailed Kites
This is a white-tailed kite.
White-tailed Kites are birds of prey. It is sometimes referred to as the “Black-Shouldered Kite”. It is an amazing bird, it looks like a Black-Shouldered Kite, it has a similar hunt strategy as a Kestrel or an Osprey, and hunts small animals that are easy to catch. It is the most amazing bird I’ve ever seen!
Now I think you might be wondering what White-Tailed Kites look like. The White-Tailed Kite has two black and grey wings, a white tail, a white body, and a white head. Its beak is yellowish orange, like its feet.Overall light gray/white body with black shoulders, black area around eye, short black hooked beak, black carpal patches, red eye, pointed wings, 14 to 15 inches in length, 40 inch wingspan. The baby Kites look a little bit different from the adults. The baby Kites are have a lot of brown on their bodies.
The White-Tailed Kites have a similar hunt strategy as the American Kestrel. White-Tailed Kites hunts by hovering in place. It will hover up to 100 feet high above its prey, swoop down really fast so its prey won’t run away and hide. White-Tailed Kites hunt rodent, snakes, small birds, amphibians, and other small creatures that are easy to catch.
White Tailed Kites live in grasslands, marshes, savannas, and other open land. White Tailed Kites lay 3-5 eggs with lots of brown spots. Their nest is made out of twigs and sticks and outlined in grass. Their nest is usually build in a tall tree near water. Most of White-Tailed Kites live in South America. Here are some Places You Might Find White-Tailed Kites in San Diego. Mission Trails Park, San Diego Rose Canyon, University City Poway Santa Ysabel area.
Now you know how White-Tailed Kites look, how White-Tailed Kites hunt, where White-Tailed Kites live, and where you might find one. Next time you see something flying with a white body, black/grey wings, chances are that the bird is a White-Tailed Kite.