Elanid Kite

An elanid kite, sometimes white-tailed kite, is any of several small, long-winged, hovering raptors. All are specialist rodent hunters and most are members of the genus Elanus. Some authorities list the group as a formal subfamily, Elaninae. As a subfamily there are eight species in five genera with four of these genera being monotypic.

Elanid kites have a near-worldwide distribution, with three endemic species found in the Americas, two in Australia, one each in Africa and southern Asia, while the Black-winged Kite is found over a vast range from Europe and Africa in the west to Southeast Asia in the east.