Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus)
About the Letter-winged Kite
The letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive bird of prey that is found only in Australia. Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in length with a wingspan of 84–100 cm (33–39 in), the adult letter-winged kite has predominantly pale grey and white plumage and prominent black rings around its red eyes. Its name derives from its highly distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow 'M' or 'W' shape, visible when in flight. This distinguishes it from the otherwise similar black-shouldered kite. This species is also the only nocturnal species within the order Accipitriformes despite few differences found in its visual anatomy to other closely related kites.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 8 recordings for this species: 8 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Australia in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.