Letter-winged kite

The letter-winged kite is a small, rare and irruptive bird of prey that is found only in Australia. It gains its name from the highly distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ or ‘W’ shape, seen when in flight. The species begins breeding in response to rodent outbreaks, with pairs nesting in loose colonies of up to 50 birds each.

About Letter-winged kite in brief

The letter-winged kite is a small, rare and irruptive bird of prey that is found only in Australia. It gains its name from the highly distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ or ‘W’ shape, seen when in flight. The species begins breeding in response to rodent outbreaks, with pairs nesting in loose colonies of up to 50 birds each. Three to four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days, though the eggs may be abandoned if the food source disappears. Chicks are fledged within five weeks of hatching. It is a specialist predator of rodents, which it hunts by hovering in mid-air above grasslands and fields. Its bill is black, with a dark grey-brown cere at its base. Its wings are marked with a black shoulder patch above and a striking black line underneath, which runs from the primary coverts to the body, and which resembles a letter ‘M’ or ‘W’ when flying. The female is similar but can be distinguished by a greyer crown, and its grey plumage is slightly darker all over. The juvenile has a white lower forehead, face, chin and throat with a brownish orange band across the forehead, neck and breast. It has a similar dark eye patch to the adult, and the eyes themselves are dark brown.

The male has pale grey upperparts, wings and nape with a white head and white underparts. The legs and feet are a fleshy pinkish white or white. The feet have three toes facing forwards and one toe facing backwards. Moulting has been recorded from all months except May and August, and is probably related to breeding. The kite soars upcurved, the primaries slightly spread and the tail fanned out, giving it a square appearance. When flying actively, it beats its wings more slowly and deeply than the black-shouldered kite. At night, it could be diurnal, not nocturnal, and could be notcturnal. It can also hover into the wind and flapping its wings, facing the wind, facing into the direction of the wind. In Central Australia, southwest of Alice Springs, the Pitjantjatjara name for the letter- winged kites is nyanyitjira. It’s been incorrectly called white-breasted sparrowhawk. It is rated as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. There is some evidence that they may be more divergent from other raptors and better placed in their own family, Accipitridae, than other species of raptor.

Related posts:

Environmental impact of wind power Wind Black-shouldered kite Red-winged fairywren