Summary ²

The letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive raptor native to Australia. The adult is predominantly pale grey and white with black shoulders and red eyes. It has a highly distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ or 'W' shape, seen when in flight. This distinguishes it from the otherwise similar black-shouldered kite. Roosting during the day in well-foliaged trees and hunting at night, it is the world's only fully nocturnal Accipitriformes...

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Ron Knight, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/sussexbirder/8079584163/
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elanus_scriptus

More Info

• iNaturalistAU taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

iNaturalistAU Map