Graceful hunter of the skies: The Black-winged Kite, where elegance meets precision

The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a small raptor known for its striking appearance, with predominantly white plumage and distinctive black wingtips. It's often observed hovering while hunting for small mammals and insects.

The black-winged kite is found in various habitats, including grasslands, marshes, and agricultural areas across parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Its diet primarily consists of small mammals like rodents, along with insects and birds.

These kites are known for their remarkable hovering ability, which they use to locate prey before descending rapidly to catch it. They have a graceful flight pattern and are easily recognizable by their contrasting black shoulder patches and wingtips against their otherwise white plumage.

Black-winged kites are generally monogamous, forming pairs that collaborate in raising their chicks. Their nests are often built in trees or on tall structures, and they may also use old crow or raptor nests. These kites are adaptable and can thrive in a variety of environments.

Photo belongs to respective owners.

Comments

Funny Moment between a Hawk and a Frog

For my first Post of the Year 2024, here's a funny moment between a hawk and a frog as captured by bird photographer Randy Wei. "I was shooting in a local park and my original target was to get a photograph of a hooded merganser. All of a sudden, a red-shouldered hawk appeared and landed in the mud under the shade. Then I started to see this hidden frog appear and begin to slowly start hopping toward the water. As the frog hopped, the hawk just stared at it without much action. I fired as many shots as I possibly could of these two in frame without much thinking, and this one appeared as if they were walking together. Well, that’s the shot, I thought!" - Randy Wei Randy Wei ( @randy_simplelife ) got into bird photography back in 2014. During the day, he works as an industrial design director, but after work, he likes to walk into nature with his camera and lens. We came across this fun shot he took of a red-shouldered hawk and a frog and connected with him to learn mo

This is an Armadillo Lizard, aka Dragon Baby.

Armadillo lizard, also known as armadillo spiny-tailed lizard or armadillo girdled lizard is a reptile that can be found only on the western coast of South Africa. When danger threatens, it forms a ball by rolling on its back and taking its tail in its mouth. Protected by hard, bony scales and spines on the head and tail, the armadillo lizard remains in this position until the danger disappears. Armadillo lizard inhabits deserts, scrublands and dry, rocky areas. Because of their unusual look, armadillo lizards are collected from the wild and sold in the pet shops around Europe and North America. High demand for armadillo lizards and well developed pet trade negatively affects their number in the wild. Armadillo lizards are listed as vulnerable (they may become endangered in the near future). Photos belongs to their respective owners

The Zebra: One Of Africa’s Most Beautiful Creatures

Did you know that when a herd of zebra merge together their stripes make it almost impossible for predators to single out an individual animal? And that a zebra’s stripes are not unlike the identifying fingerprints of humans in that they are totally unique to each animal? Zebras have attracted man’s fascination for centuries. Mostly because of their intricate and distinctly patterned black and white stripes. In some cultures, the zebra’s stripes are a symbol of harmony and balance such as in Native American shamanism. The zebra is closely related to donkeys and horses, and there are three species of zebra: Gevy’s, mountain and plains zebra, and of the three the latter is by far the most commonly found all over Africa. Interestingly enough the zebra’s stripy coat also prevents the animal from overheating in the extreme African temperatures by acting as a sunscreen and dispersing more than 70 per cent of the heat. It even aids as a form of camouflage in the long grass by distracting pr

Best of Nature and Wildlife

Search This Blog