Kite (bird)

Not to be confused with Kite.

Kite (bird)
Black kite (Milvus migrans)
Black kite
(Milvus migrans)
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Groups included
Black kite soaring

Kite is the common name for certain birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, particularly in subfamilies Milvinae, Elaninae, and Perninae.[1] The term is derived from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”),[2] possibly from the onomatopoeic Proto-Indo-European root *gū- , "screech."[3][4]

Some authors use the terms "hovering kite" and "soaring kite" to distinguish between Elanus and the milvine kites, respectively.[according to whom?] The group may also be differentiated by size, referring to milvine kites as "large kites", and elanine kites as "small kites". [citation needed]

  1. ^ "kite". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014 <https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/319664/kite>.
  2. ^ A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary%20(%E2%80%9Ckite%3B%20bittern&f=false
  3. ^ "Proto-Indo-European dictionary-translator". indo-european.info.
  4. ^ Flaksman, Maria. (2016). "Iconic Words in Proto-Germanic." Anglistics of the XXI century, vol. 2. Phonosemantics : in commemoration of Professor Dr. Stanislav Voronin's 80th anniversary. volume 2. 39-51.