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Elanoides forficatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Swallow-tailed Kite
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Rare
Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S2
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP High Priority Species (SGCN): Yes
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 56
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: River swamps; marshes, open pine and bottomland forest with super canopy pines.
This spectacular species has distinct black and snow-white plumage unlike that of any other bird of prey found in the state. It is 48-61 cm (19-24 in) in length with a long, black deeply forked tail. The wings are long, narrow, and pointed, glossy black and steel grey above and black and white below, with a wingspan of ~122 cm (48 in). The head, neck, breast, abdomen, and vent are white. Feet and bill are gray. The iris is dark but may be red to yellow in captive birds. Sexes are indistinguishable by plumage or size. Prior to fall migration, young of the year can be distinguished from older birds by noticeably shorter tails and often a rusty wash on the breast. One-year old birds have shorter tail forks than adults but are difficult to differentiate in the field. Revered for its extraordinary aerial grace, it can be distinguished even at great distances by its unique silhouette and seemingly effortless flight. This bird rarely flaps its wings but continually rotates its tail as it flies low over forests and fields.
The adult Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) could be confused with the swallow-tailed kite at a distance, particularly under poor light conditions. It has a light gray head, medium gray upper and lower parts, dark wingtips, and a dark wedge-shaped tail with squared off trailing edge. Despite its similar appearance, life history, and its habit of associating with swallow-tailed kites at roosts and in foraging flocks, it is not closely related.
Nesting activity is associated with wetland habitats throughout Florida and with river systems and large wetlands of the Coastal Plain from South Carolina to eastern Texas. In Georgia it is a rare breeder throughout much of the Coastal Plain in suitable habitat, primarily associated with rivers. This kite typically nests in tall trees in or near the edge of floodplains. Loblolly pines (Pinus taeda) are often selected but bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and hardwoods such as water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and oaks (Quercus spp.) are often used in southwestern Georgia and in the Ogeechee and Savannah river systems. Foraging habitats include bottomland forests, cypress and mixed cypress-hardwood swamps, hardwood hammocks, pine flatwoods, pine forests bordering riparian areas, freshwater and brackish marshes, wet prairies, sloughs, fields, and pastures.
Insects caught in the air or plucked from foliage are the primary diet of adults; rough green snakes, frogs, lizards, nestling songbirds, and less frequently bats are also eaten as well as fed to nestlings, along with insects. Despite widespread belief, kites are not inordinately fond of dragonflies as a prey item. Curiously, the Latin American subspecies, E. f. yetapa, is known to eat fruit occasionally.
Swallow-tailed kites are present in Georgia only during the spring and summer. After arriving in mid-March to April from wintering grounds in South America, adults establish territories and begin nest building. Nests are made of small sticks loosely held together and lined with lichens and Spanish moss. In late March and April, females lay an average of two eggs that are smooth and creamy white with brown markings. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid and lasts about 28 days, hatching is asynchronous. Both sexes share incubation duties, with the majority done by the female. Fledging occurs 35-45 days after hatching. Only one nesting attempt per breeding season is known. Monitoring in Georgia from 1999 to 2013 documented an average nest success rate of 53 percent with successful nests fledging an average of 1.46 chicks. Nests are sometimes in "neighborhoods" with 2-7 nests as close as 80m (90 yards) from their nearest neighbor. An extra non-breeding bird is present at most nests beginning with territory establishment. These birds are tolerated by the breeding pair but are not allowed to feed young in the nest. Communal night roosts of several to 30 kites are common during nesting, and large pre-migration communal roosts occur, with the largest in southern Florida containing as many as 3,000 birds at its peak. The largest pre-migration roost found in Georgia was 114 birds. Swallow-tailed kites are frequently seen foraging in groups of 3-30 birds or more, often with Mississippi kites. These foraging flocks occur reliably in late July over the same pastures year after year, notably near Glennville. These remarkably graceful birds most often catch and eat their prey while in flight. They also drink and bathe on the wing. Most swallow-tailed kites depart the U.S. for the wintering grounds by late August with a few stragglers remaining until mid-September.
Ground and boat searches in the vicinity of reported kite activity should be a priority, particularly in areas unknown previously to harbor nests. Boat surveys upstream of the known breeding range in each river system should be conducted to further refine breeding range limits. Wildlife management areas and other protected properties should be intensively searched to insure management activities do not interfere with nesting. Helicopter surveys along major Atlantic drainage rivers in early May to document nesting are a priority. These surveys have proven less effective on the Savannah, Ogeechee, and Gulf drainage rivers and properly timed flights during nest building in late March-early April may be more fruitful there. Region-wide, synchronous pre-migration roost flights are the best way to estimate the current population and detect trends and should be conducted regularly.
The main breeding range in the U.S. is contained in just seven states and is restricted to Florida and the coastal plains of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and easternmost Texas. Recently a few nests have been documented in Arkansas and North Carolina. Breeding Bird Atlas data (1994-2001) show that in Georgia this species occurs most commonly along the larger Atlantic drainage rivers, particularly the Altamaha, Savannah, Ogeechee, and Satilla rivers, but also in the Okefenokee Swamp and at sites scattered along the southern border of the state. In 2013 nests were discovered along the Ochlockonee River in Grady County, and in 2016 on the Ocmulgee River in Pulaski County. Evidence of nesting was observed on the Oconee River in Wilkinson County in 2016. A nest was confirmed in Burke County along the Savannah River in 2018. These locations are the farthest west and north this species has been documented nesting in the state. Breeding populations also occur in southern Mexico and Central America and resident populations occur in South America. The North and Central American breeding populations winter in South America, with Georgia birds traveling to Brazil and Paraguay. The wintering area for the state's swallow-tailed kites was only recently discovered after six adult birds were fitted with satellite transmitters.
Prior to the early 1900s, nesting occurred in at least 16 and perhaps as many as 21 states including the current range and throughout the Mississippi Valley as far north as Minnesota. A sharp decline from 1880 to 1940 resulted in the current breeding range. Suggested reasons for this decline include agricultural development, logging of bottomland forests, and shooting. Loss of nesting, foraging, and roosting habitat from drainage of marshes and conversion of bottomland forests are the major threats to the species in its breeding range today. Although nesting swallow-tailed kites are relatively inaccessible and somewhat tolerant of human activity, roosting kites do not tolerate high levels of direct disturbance and are vulnerable to harassment. The large pine trees this species often uses for nesting in Georgia are very valuable for saw timber and harvest of these trees could lead to a shortage of suitable nest sites and subsequent reductions in the state's breeding population. Forest fragmentation likely makes kite nests more vulnerable to predators such as great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) that are associated with more open habitats. Other nest predators include other raptors, raccoons, and rat snakes.
Swallow-tailed kite nesting has been documented on Paulks Pasture, Clayhole Swamp, Sansavilla, Penholoway Swamp, Townsend, Griffin Ridge, Little Satilla, Horse Creek, Tuckahoe, Bullard Creek, and Savannah Natural Area WMAs and has likely occurred on Beaverdam, Riverbend, River Creek, Alapaha River, Altamaha, Big Hammock and Chickasawhatchee WMAs. Other protected properties with documented nesting include Stephen Foster State Park, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Ft. Stewart, and University of Georgia and Georgia Land Trust properties along the Satilla River. However, the majority of nesting occurs on private lands, largely industrial timberlands, and protection of nesting habitat on public lands alone is likely insufficient to insure persistence of the species.
Preliminary population viability modeling suggests the U.S. kite population is only marginally likely to persist long-term, indicating a critical need for conservation measures. Kites have a relatively low reproductive rate and suffer high mortality during migration. The U.S. breeding population is estimated at 3,000 pairs, or up to 10,000 individuals at the end of the breeding season. Florida supports the majority of the population with probably no more than 200-300 pairs in each of the other southeastern core breeding range states. Based on the high site fidelity, loose colonial nature, and sensitivity to disturbance of nesting swallow-tailed kites, the most important conservation measure for the species should be protecting habitat where they choose to nest. The protection of suitable habitat, even if kites have not been documented nesting there, is also worthwhile. Finally, there is potential, with minor adjustments to timber harvest practices, to create additional suitable nesting habitat. Areas possibly as large as 40,000 ha (100,000 acres) containing diverse riparian forest, upland pine edge, and open foraging areas are required to support viable populations. Areas capable of supporting kite populations now and in the future, especially associated with large river and creek systems, must be identified and cooperatively managed to provide suitable habitat conditions for nesting and foraging. Key roosting sites should also be protected. Conservation of swallow-tailed kites must involve lands actively managed for forestry and other uses in addition to public lands. A regional approach will best address the long-term needs of the species.
Burleigh, T. D. 1958. Georgia Birds. University Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Cely, J. E., and J. A. Sorrow. 1990. The American swallow-tailed kite in South Carolina. Nongame and Heritage Trust Fund Publication 1. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia, SC.
Meyer, K. D. 1995. Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). In A. Poole and F. Gill, eds., The Birds of North America, no. 138. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA and American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, DC.
Meyer, K. D. 1996. American Swallow-tailed Kite. Pp. 188–196 in J. A. Rodgers Jr., H. W. Kale II, and H. T. Smith, eds., Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida. Vol. 5: Birds. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Meyer, K. D. 2006. Applied management practices to increase nesting success and productivity of the Swallow-tailed Kite and Georgia state lands habitat inventory. Unpublished report to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Avian Research and Conservation Institute, Gainesville, FL.
Meyer, K. D., and M. W. Collopy. 1990. Status, Distribution, and Habitat Requirements of the American Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) in Florida. Final Report. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Tallahassee.
Meyer, K. D., and G. M. Zimmerman. 2009. Nesting locations, use of artificial structures, success and productivity of Swallow-tailed Kites in Georgia during the 2009 breeding season. Final Report to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame Conservation Section, Brunswick, GA.
Swan, D. 2010. Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). Pp. 122–123 in T. M. Schneider, G. Beaton, T. S. Keyes, and N. A. Klaus, eds. The Breeding Bird Atlas of Georgia. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Williams, E. J. 1999. Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). Pp. 44–45 in T. W. Johnson, J. C. Ozier, J. L. Bohannon, J. B. Jensen, and C. Skelton, eds., Protected Animals of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame Wildlife– Natural Heritage Section, Social Circle.
Emily Jo Williams, Diana Swan, Todd M. Schneider, Timothy S. Keyes, Andy Day
E.J. Williams, 1999: original account
D. Swan, 2010: Breeding Bird Atlas species account
T. Schneider and T. Keyes, July 2010: modified and edited text
K. Owers, July 2010: updated status and ranks, added picture
A. Day and T. Schneider, 8 November 2019: modified and edited text
