Family:
The black-winged kite, also known as the black-shouldered kite, is a small, falcon-like raptor with long, broad wings and a short, square tail. Its upperparts are blue-grey, with distinctive black patches on the shoulders formed by dark wing coverts, while the underparts are white. On the head, there is a small black eye mask. The eyes are red, the beak is grey with a yellow base, and the legs and feet are yellow.
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The black-winged kite feeds on large insects such as grasshoppers and crickets, lizards, small snakes, frogs, rodents, and injured birds. It usually hunts from a perch but occasionally catches prey in flight.
Black-winged kites are found in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia as well as some areas of Spain and Portugal. It inhabits open savannah, semi-desert, and agricultural land with some trees.
