Elanus
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Elanus | |
---|---|
![]() |
|
Black-shouldered kite, Elanus axillaris | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: |
Elanus
Savigny, 1809
|
species | |
E. caeruleus |
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Elanus is a genus of bird of prey in the elanid kite subfamily. It consists of four species.
- Black-winged kite, Elanus caeruleus
- Black-shouldered kite, Elanus axillaris
- White-tailed kite, Elanus leucurus
- Letter-winged kite, Elanus scriptus
The first three species above were considered conspecific as subspecies of Elanus caeruleus, which has been known as the black-shouldered kite.
These are white and grey raptors of open country, with black wing markings and a short square tail. They hunt by slowly quartering the habitat for rodents and other small mammals, birds and insects, sometimes hovering like a kestrel.
References
- Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead and Burton Raptors of the World ISBN 0-7136-8026-1