Family:
The black kite is a medium-sized bird of prey with a slightly forked tail and short head and neck. The upperparts are brown with dark streaks, and black outer flight feathers. The underparts are pale brown and get lighter towards the chin. The head and neck are paler with a dark patch behind the eye. The bill is black with a yellow cere and gape, the legs are yellow and the claws are black. Males and females are similar although the female is slightly larger.
In flight, the fork in the tail disappears and it glides effortlessly, changing direction with ease. Its distinctive call is a piercing, shrill whistle followed by a rapid vibrating sound. During winter they form large communal roosts and will migrate in large flocks.
They have few natural predators except for the Eurasian eagle-owl which has had an impact on its breeding success in the Italian Alps.
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Black kites are opportunistic hunters and will take birds, small mammals such as bats, rodents, fish, and eggs, and will scavenge near rubbish dumps which earned them the nickname shite hawks in British colonial India. They hunt near wildfires to catch animals trying to escape the blaze. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they help spread fires by dropping burning twigs to flush out prey.
Black kites are found across most of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia in open woodland, savanna, steppes, and nearby human habitation. In winter they migrate south to southern Eurasia, southern Africa, and Australia.
