Swallow-tailed Kite

The Swallow-tailed Kite is one of the most distinctive raptors in the Americas, instantly recognized by its snow-white head and underparts set against jet-black wings and a long, scissor-like forked tail. It breeds in the southeastern United States and much of Central and South America, spending winters largely in South America.

Its flight style is buoyant and effortless, gliding on long angular wings while twisting its forked tail to steer, more like a giant swallow than a typical hawk.

Because the plumage contrast is so extreme and the tail shape so unusual, a single feather from this species is often identifiable at a glance, especially a tail feather with its long tapering shape.

Shape and Size

Flight feathers are long, narrow, and pointed, suited to soaring on thermals and gliding low over canopy. Tail feathers are notably elongated and taper to a point, contributing to the deeply forked silhouette; outer tail feathers can reach 20+ cm.

Color and Pattern

• Body and head contour feathers: pure white, unmarked
• Wing and tail feathers: solid glossy black with iridescent green-purple highlights in sunlight
• Shafts: dark on black feathers, pale on white body feathers
• No barring or spotting anywhere in adult plumage

Distinguishing from Similar Species

The stark, unbarred black-and-white pattern with no streaking rules out nearly every other kite or hawk in its range; other American kites (Mississippi, White-tailed) show gray tones and lack the deep tail fork. The long forked black tail feather alone is essentially diagnostic in its range.

Adults show a pure white head, neck, and underparts against black wings, back, and tail, with no seasonal color change. Sexes look alike. Juveniles resemble adults but with slightly less contrast and a shorter tail fork until fully grown.

Molt occurs primarily on the wintering grounds in South America, outside the breeding season, so birds arrive back in North America each spring in fresh plumage.

Breeds in bottomland hardwood forests, cypress swamps, and pine flatwoods near rivers and wetlands in the southeastern U.S., with a broader resident and breeding range through Central America and much of South America.

It is a long-distance Nearctic-Neotropical migrant, with North American breeders wintering mainly in Brazil and neighboring regions; southern populations may be largely resident.

Swallow-tailed Kites forage almost entirely on the wing, snatching flying insects, tree frogs, lizards, and nestling birds directly from foliage without landing. They often eat prey while still flying.

They nest high in tall trees, and gather in large communal pre-migration roosts of hundreds of birds in late summer. Vocalizations are thin, high-pitched whistles, given infrequently.

A feather found on the ground under a tall pine or cypress near a river swamp, especially in the southeastern U.S. summer, is a good clue for this species.