Species: Elanus leucurus
White-tailed Kite
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Falconiformes
Family
Accipitridae
Genus
Elanus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Gavião-Peneira - Milano Cola Blanca, Gavilán Blanco, Taguato Morotî - Élanion à queue blanche
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Raptors
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Falconiformes - Accipitridae - Elanus - Constitutes a superspecies with E. CAERULEUS and E. AXILLARIS (AOU 1998); the three species were treated as conspecific by (AOU 1983). Sibley and Monroe (1990) regarded the three taxa as distinct species. Clark and Banks (1992) emphasized that American ELANUS differs from Old World kites in greater size and weight, in proportions (relatively longer tail and small bill and feet), plumage pattern (particularly of juveniles), and in behavior; they argued that these differences are sufficient to warrant recognition of E. LEUCURUS as a distinct species.
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false - Tends to move seasonally but evidence of actual migration is lacking (Palmer 1988).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Diet in the U.S. is almost exclusively voles and mice (MICROTUS, MUS, REITHRODONTOMYS); pocket gopher sometimes is a secondary item. See Palmer (1988) for a brief review of foods elsewhere.
Reproduction Comments
Female incubates usually 4-5 eggs for about 30-32 days; male provides food. Young leave nest in 30-35 days (or more). Sometimes two broods/year. Some may breed at one year (Palmer 1988).
Ecology Comments
In southern California, communal roosting occurs in fall-winter; location of roost may shift during that period. <br><br>In northwestern California, 26 territories ranged from 1.6-21.5 ha (mean 7.8 ha); territories were largest in areas where vole density and total raptor abundance were relatively low (Dunk and Cooper 1994).
Length
41
Weight
350
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-22
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-22
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AL=S3&US.AZ=S2&US.CA=S3&US.FL=S1&US.LA=S1&US.MS=__&US.NM=__&US.OR=S2&US.TX=S4&US.WA=S2" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - RESIDENT: locally from southwestern Washington south to northwestern Baja California (mainly in Central Valley of California), in Florida (small resident population), and from southern Texas south through Mexico to South America (northern Colombia to Guianas, eastern Brazil through Paraguay, northern Argentina, and Chile; Ridgely et al. 1989); recent breeding in Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi; numerous recent occurrences throughout the southern U.S.
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)