#0797 · 🐦 birds

Black-winged Kite

🇳🇱 Grijze Wouw ·Elanus caeruleus

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in the Netherlands

9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The black-winged kite ( Elanus caeruleus ) 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 Eurasian and African 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...

base stats

NL sightings 25iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 18,050iNaturalist observations
weight 21 gadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).