Swallow-tailed kite

Orwell, Ontario, Sept 12, 2021.


We did a road trip, the first in over a year, to see the kite.
Directions were excellent, pulled in and the bird was immediately pointed out to us.
It flew around at a distance and finally perched in a tree reasonably close to the road.
Elanoides forficatus
Swallow-tailed Kites eat many stinging insects including wasps and fire ants. In Florida, the kites often return to their nests with whole wasp nests, eat the larvae, and add the insect’s nest into their own nest. Their stomachs are thicker and spongier than the average raptor stomach.
source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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