| Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris (aka Australian Black-shouldered Kite) |
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South Australia February / March 2006 The Black-shouldered Kite is endemic to Australia where it is found in grasslands, farmland, roadsides and at the coast. Numbers fluctuate depending on drought, floods and the supply of small rodents. |
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It is a small rather gull-like kite which is pale grey above and pure white below but with black shoulders and
underwings and a black mark through the eye. The eye itself is red and the cere and legs are yellow.
Juveniles have pale buff replacing the white and this gradually disappears as the bird gets older. |
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Photos 2 to 5 show juvenile birds with a rufous-buff breast-band and a brownish wash to the mantle and back. | |||
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