- Elanus caeruleus
Description
Photographed near Perak, Peninsular Malaysia.
Identification
Taxonomy & name: Elanus caeruleus is commonly called the Black-shouldered Kite, leading to easy confusion with the Australian E. axillaris (which, along with E. leucurus of the Americas, have been considered subspecies of E. caeruleus).
Size: Ca. 30 cm. (~12 in).
Range: Europe, Africa and southern Asia. In Europe rare and local but increasing. Breeds only in southern Portugal and central Spain, recently bred for the first time in south-west France in Landes/Pyrenees-Atlantiques and in 1994 a pair held territory in Normandy. Also breeds in North Africa in parts of Morocco, coastal Algeria and Tunisia, and in the Nile Valley. Increasing in Egypt but in decline in North-West Africa, and now particularly rare in Algeria. South of the Sahara this is a common and widespread species from Senegal to Ethiopia and southern Somalia and south to the Cape including Madagascar. In Asia breeds in the south-west of the Arabian Peninsula and from Pakistan, through the Indian Subcontinent, South-East Asia and the Philippines south to Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi. Also occurs in central and eastern New Guinea. Mainly resident over much of range but some undergo erratic movements. Recorded as a vagrant in France in Picardy in the north and the Camargue in the south, Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Germany and the Czech Republic and Austria. Also recorded in Italy, Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East, presumably from North-East Africa.
Habitat: Open areas with scattered trees and woodland edges in cultivated areas, savanna and semi-desert.
Spanish breeding range
Since the spring of 2003, Black-shouldered Kites have been breeding in the Donana region of south-western Spain. At least 5 pairs bred successfully in the Corredor Verde near Villamanrique in 2006. Other pairs are also known to be breeding locally. Nest building and mating by three pairs has already been observed during December 2006 in territories held by resident birds in the Corredor Verde. It is possible that there are now as many as 15 resident pairs throughout the Donana region.
Posted by John Butler on Wednesday 13th December 2006 22:32 [Edit Comment]
Originally posted by John Butler
