Kiting

Ask most anyone to name some different families of raptors, and the list will usually include hawks, falcons, eagles, osprey, and sometimes even owls. It is rare, however, for someone to mention kites, at least in their first breath. The large, soaring buteos, the swift, agile falcons, and the majestic, charismatic eagles seem to be much more prevalent on our raptor-radars. It is a shame that kites are often absent from these lists, as they are unique and impressive raptors in their own right.

There are five species of kite that can be seen in North America. The one that has become familiar to me during my time in California is the white-tailed kite. Falcon-shaped with flight resembling that of a gull, the most prominent feature of this kite is probably its black shoulder patches. This inspired ornithologists to change the bird's name to "black-shouldered kite" during a brief identity crisis in the '80's.

An adult white-tailed kite is a striking sight to behold; in addition to the black shoulder patches, distinctive black carpal patches can be seen on the underside of the wing. The head, body, and tail are completely white, and the underwing becomes progressively dark moving closer to the tips of the primaries. The adult's eyes, surrounded by a patch of black, are a deep scarlet. Juveniles look similar, but with rufous-colored feathers along the breast, a narrow band towards the tip of the tail, and a brown-colored eye.

(photo: www.wikipedia.org/)

During a birding field trip to Skaggs Island yesterday, white-tailed kites were one of the most frequently spotted species of the day. Across the landscape, I spied multiple kites, perched in the bushes or displaying my favorite raptor behavior: kiting. In this hunting strategy, which just so happens to be the origin of their namesake, white-tailed kites hover in place over the landscape, flapping their wings in a way that is necessary to hold them and place and captivating for the hawkwatcher. The kites will continue to do this behavior until they see a rodent (which they prey on almost exclusively) and stoop down to strike or move on to investigate a different area.

When kiting, white-tailed kites look almost angelic in appearance.

Kite populations were declining rapidly at the start of the 20th century due to hunting and egg collection practices; white-tailed kites were all but extinct in California by 1940. However, thanks to protective legislation and the abundance of prey available to them at agricultural sites, their populations have rebounded since this time. Even so, there are rapid fluctuations in white-tailed kite population numbers from year to year due to similar fluctuations in prey availability. This makes it challenging to collect accurate censuses, and many ornithologists believe that we should still be watching white-tailed kites closely for signs of sudden, significant decline.

While white-tailed kites and all their kite cousins may not be the poster children of the raptor world, they are equally impressive and ecologically-essential. This is one bird I am going to miss seeing on a regular basis when I leave California and I believe it deserves equal time in the spotlight as its more-famous raptorial counterparts.