Swallow-tailed Kite

Elanoides forficatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Swallow-tailed Kite, Elanoides forficatus, breeds from the southern United States through Middle America into South America, reaching northern Argentina. It is a kite in the family Accipitridae and the only member of its genus. The bird is strongly marked in black and white, with black flight feathers, bill and feet, and a long forked tail that gives it its name. It nests in large wetland forests, usually in tall trees, and in the United States its range has contracted to coastal parts of the south-west and south-east.

Order

Accipitriformes

Family

Accipitridae — Kites, Hawks, Eagles

Breeding range

North America, Middle America, South America: s USA to ne Argentina