Kite is the common name for about 30 species of typically lightly built birds of the hawk family,
Accipitridae, widely distributed over warmer regions of the world. They are distinguished by their
graceful, gliding flight and occur most commonly near water or wetlands. Kites are classified in
three subfamilies: Elaninae, or the white-tailed kites; Perninae, or the fork-tailed kites (and
honey buzzards); and Milvinae, or the true kites. The swallow-tailed kite, Elanoides forficatus,
found from the southeastern United States and the West Indies to northern Argentina, is slim, black
above, and white below and has a white head and a long, deeply forked tail. It spends most of the
time on the wing, feeding on the larger flying insects and skimming the water to bathe and drink.
The Everglade kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, found from southern Florida into Argentina, is heavier-
bodied, dark, with a broad white band across the tail. It feeds exclusively on snails. Some Old
World species are scavengers.
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