Swallow-tailed kite

Elanoides forficatus

Aves · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae

Fig. 1. Swallow-tailed kite

Fig. 2. Range

Length or height	About 50-68 cm long; wingspan about 1.2-1.4 m
Weight	About 0.3-0.6 kg
Food	Insects, lizards, tree frogs, nestlings, eaten in flight
Lifespan	About 10 years or more (est.)
Society	Gathers in pre-migration roosts
Habitat	forest, wetland
Range	North America, South America
Wild or tame	Wild

Arrives in Florida in late February and March and leaves by late summer for South America. It eats and drinks on the wing, skimming water like a swallow.

Observe: Watch the deep forked tail twist as it steers.

Modern data

Status today

LCLeast concern status to verify

Conservation	Least concern; the U.S. range has shrunk to the Southeast, mostly Florida.
Keeper's note	Daily checks of appetite, movement and behavior; enrichment that changes from day to day.
Kingdom · phylum	Animalia · Chordata
Genus	Elanoides

Check the record: IUCN Red List · GBIF · Cornell Lab: All About Birds · FWC species profiles

See it elsewhere in the museum

YJB7B7

Same order: Accipitriformes

Swallow-tailed kite

Status today

See it elsewhere in the museum

Same order: Accipitriformes

Bald eagle

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Golden eagle

Red-shouldered hawk