![]() Įnglish naturalist John Gould described the same species as Elanus notatus in 1838 from a specimen from New South Wales, apparently unaware of Latham's description. The species description was based on one of four paintings by Australian painter Thomas Watling of a bird in the Sydney district in the 1790s. He reported the description came from a bird that had been kept for two months in the early colony. Its specific name is derived from the Latin axilla, meaning "armpit", relating to the dark patches under the wings. ![]() The black-shouldered kite was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801, as Falco axillaris. Taxonomy Illustration in John Gould's Birds of Australia, 1840s It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species. It mainly eats small rodents, particularly the introduced house mouse, and has benefitted from the modification of the Australian landscape by agriculture. The black-shouldered kite hunts in open grasslands, searching for its prey by hovering and systematically scanning the ground. Juveniles disperse widely from their home territory. Chicks are fully fledged within five weeks of hatching and can hunt for mice within a week of leaving the nest. Three or four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days. The birds engage in aerial courtship displays which involve high circling flight and ritualised feeding mid-air. The species forms monogamous pairs, breeding between August and January. It can be confused with the related letter-winged kite in Australia, which is distinguished by the striking black markings under its wings. The primary call is a clear whistle, uttered in flight and while hovering. It gains its name from the black patches on its wings. Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in length, with a wingspan of 80–100 cm (31–39 in), the adult black-shouldered kite has predominantly grey-white plumage and prominent black markings above its red eyes. It resembles similar species found in Africa, Eurasia and North America, including the black-winged kite, a species that has in the past also been called "black-shouldered kite". ![]() The black-shouldered kite ( Elanus axillaris), also known as the Australian black-shouldered kite, is a small raptor found in open habitats throughout Australia. ![]()
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