Swallow Tailed Kite

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Cerro Azul, Panama, 23 April 2010

Bird name: Swallow Tailed Kite
Latin: Elanoides forficatus
Other: Gavião-tesoura (Br) • Elanio tijereta (Es)
Family: Accipitridae • Kites, Birds of Prey
Range:
Similar:

The Swallow Tailed Kite is unmistakable by its long deeply-forked tail and contrasting black and white plumage.

Its range includes much of South America, excluding the southern cone, and extends up through Central America into southern USA.

I was greeted by a close group of about twenty or thirty Swallow-tailed Kites, circling on thermals on Cerro Azul, where these photos were taken on my first morning in Panama. Possibly migrating, though there is a resident population.

Also seen in Ubatuba - the Swallow-tailed Kite can be found in most of Brazil.