Readily seen perched atop a tree, or hovering over grassland with their feet dangling, is the Black-shouldered Kite.
A small to medium raptor (bird of prey), they are small mammal specialist, with a love for the introduced House Mouse.
Black-shouldered Kites have predominantly pale grey plumage, with a pure white head, body and tail and black shoulders. They have an orange-red eye, yellow nostrils and yellow legs and feet. The wings are white underneath, with a small black patch on the ‘wrist joint’ of the underwing. Sexes are alike but the female is larger and juveniles have buff-brown feathers on upperparts.
Found throughout mainland Australia where there is suitable habitat, they typically hunt over natural grassland, vineyards or low farmland stubble that has just enough height to harbour mice or other prey. If you take notice, you can often see one along roads or in vacant lands of urban and coastal areas. They are mainly resident but may move in response to the availability of their rodent prey.
Often hunting at daybreak and dusk, they will work in pairs or alone. They ride on the wind and hover skilfully while using their sharp eyesight to spot prey from afar, then the wings move through a wide arc and they divebomb at the opportune moment.
While they are normally silent hunters, they will occasionally let out a short, high-pitched whistle during the breeding season when communicating with their mate. While their main prey is small rodents, they will also eat large insects like grasshoppers, as well as other small mammals, reptiles and birds.
They can breed throughout the year with a peak during spring and autumn and may have two broods a year when food is abundant. They form monogamous pairs cemented through elaborate aerial courtship displays, which involve the male offering the female food in mid-air.
For a brief moment they are locked together, each gripping the same prey with their feet as they hover. Their nest is a platform of sticks lined with green leaves, bark or fur, typically well hidden in dense leaves in the top half of a tall tree.
The nest is built by the female with the male sometimes helping to gather material. The female incubates while the male either guards from a nearby tree or hunts and passes over prey caught. Young fledge from the nest at about 35 days old.
