169. Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Black-winged Kites are found in a few areas of northern Africa, Spain and even France, how exciting! They are pretty unique-looking with their red stare and grey, black and white plumage; they are Hobby-sized but bulkier with a larger head, and can hover like a Kestrel and glide like a harrier. The sexes are similar and juveniles have a less blue-tinged grey back with white feather tips, and an ochre-brown tinged breast and crown. They like open habitats, such as savanna, semi-desert, forest fringes and plains interspersed with trees and copses.

Black-winged Kite, ©srikaanth.sekar, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Black-winged Kite painting.

No painting tomorrow as I'm rushing off to London now, for the British Ecological Society's Undergraduate Ecological Careers Event tomorrow, woohoo! I should learn loads of useful stuff to help me get an ecology-based career :o)