Black Shouldered Kite With Rat

This Black Shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) caught a rat and perched on a dead tree trunk to eat it. A smallish bird of prey, the Black Shouldered Kite is a grey and white raptor with a black shoulder. The upperparts are bluish grey, with black wing coverts, which appear as a distinctive, black shoulder patch. The underparts are white. There is a small black mask around the red eye. They hover above their prey before swooping down for the kill. Their diet consists mainly of rodents, insects and small birds.

© 2011 All Rights Reserved

Ref:

Date:

Location:

Western Cape, South Africa

Photographer:

Joan Ryder Rathband FRPS FPSSA

Black Shouldered Kite With Rat

This Black Shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) caught a rat and perched on a dead tree trunk to eat it. A smallish bird of prey, the Black Shouldered Kite is a grey and white raptor with a black shoulder. The upperparts are bluish grey, with black wing coverts, which appear as a distinctive, black shoulder patch. The underparts are white. There is a small black mask around the red eye. They hover above their prey before swooping down for the kill. Their diet consists mainly of rodents, insects and small birds.

© 2011 All Rights Reserved

Ref:

Date:

Location:

Western Cape, South Africa

Photographer:

Joan Ryder Rathband FRPS FPSSA