| Letter-winged kite | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Elanus |
| Species: | E. scriptus
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| Binomial name | |
| Elanus scriptus Gould, 1842
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| Range of the letter-winged kite (2007) | |
The letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive bird of prey that is found only in Australia. Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in length with a wingspan of 84–100 cm (33–39 in), the adult letter-winged kite has predominantly pale grey and white plumage and prominent black rings around its red eyes. Its name derives from its highly distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow 'M' or 'W' shape, visible when in flight. This distinguishes it from the otherwise similar black-shouldered kite. This species is also the only nocturnal species within the order Accipitriformes despite few differences found in its visual anatomy to other closely related kites.[2]
The species begins breeding in response to rodent outbreaks, with pairs nesting in loose colonies of up to 50 birds each. Three to four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days, though the eggs may be abandoned if the food source disappears. Chicks are fledged within five weeks of hatching. Roosting in well-foliaged trees during the day, the letter-winged kite hunts mostly at night. It is a specialist predator of rodents, which it hunts by hovering above grasslands and fields. It is rated as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species.
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Elanus scriptus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22695039A93486587. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695039A93486587.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Keirnan, Aubrey; Worthy, Trevor H.; Smaers, Jereon B.; Mardon, Karine; Iwaniuk, Andrew N.; Weisbecker, Vera (2022). "Not like night and day: the nocturnal letter-winged kite does not differ from diurnal congeners in orbit or endocast morphology". Royal Society Open Science. 9 (5): 17. Bibcode:2022RSOS....920135K. doi:10.1098/rsos.220135. PMC 9128852. PMID 35620001. S2CID 249019479.