Some features here of the Black-winged Kite, a raptor bird.
This is indeed a fascinating bird that is famous for his hovering in the air above prey abilities.
But I have posted the hovering in flight actions before and today I simply wanted to show you his beauty.
There is a current #smap contest with the latest topic titled "Bird Eye" in the #feateredfriends community and this post also serves as an entry in the contest.
Come and have a look.
This is the Black-winged Kite, previously known as the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Winking that killer eye by blanking it at me.
Now let me show you his landing at the top of a high tree.
Well balanced in the wind he landed by grabbing the branch with his one claw.
Here he anchored his position by placing the other claw at the top of the branch.
Finally he gave me that famous raptor look. I was about 200 yards away from him but he can see very far and I didn't look like a tree to him hahaha.
Yes, a lovely bird and thankfully I have many photos of them, in flight, hovering and with large rats in their beaks whilst landing to eat the rats.
The only photo that I don't have yet is of him landing on the prey, as he is too fast for me. But I am a patient man and one day I will get him in his full strike action.
All of the photos were taken on my zoom at the Rietvlei farm in Gauteng.
For more information about this Kite visit the "Source" link below,
The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely related Australian species with the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels.
Source
And That's All Friends!
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX60HS Bridbe camera.
We hope that you have enjoyed the story and the pictures.
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