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Quite
why kites are called kites is not clear, but I suspect it is because of
their flying skills. Three
species of these raptors (birds of prey) occur in southern Africa, of
which the Yellow Billed- and Black |
Shouldered Kites are the most common. Indeed they are probably the most common of all raptors, as they
seem to have benefited from man’s presence.
The
Yellow Billed Kite (YBK) (Milvus
migrans parasiticus) is considered a sub-species
of the third member of the trio, the Black Kite, which is not common in
these parts. However, as
the two birds’ breeding biology and migration patters are completely
different, the YBKs are more likely a separate species.
Whether ornithologists will eventually agree on this remains to
be seen.
Black
Kites (Milvus migrans lineatus) are
fairly hard to distinguish from YBKs, particularly when on the
wing and I suspect a lot of the time juvenile YBKs are misidentified as
Black Kites. But once you’ve had a good view of a Black Kite, you are
unlikely to ever  mistake the two again.
The Black Kite’s beak is black, its legs are gray and it sports
a grayish hood. As already
mentioned, its migration pattern is also different.
It goes much further north – out of Africa to Europe and the Kyrgyz
steppes, where it breeds.
The YBK on the other hand, is all
brown, has an obviously yellow beak and often distinctly notched tail.
To identify it in flight, look for the long broad trail, which it
uses as a rudder, the way it holds its wings angle at the joint so the
bird looks like a flying W and of course its yellow beak.
The YBKs aerial skills are the envy
of any aerobatic pilot. It
can spend hours expertly riding the currents with only an occasional
flap. It swoops and dives
are spectacular and preceded by impressive wing-overs.
The YBK is an intra-African migrant that normally arrives in
KwaZulu Natal in the second week of March.
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While enjoying the long summer days and abundant food here, the
birds mate and raise one or two chicks.
These then accompany the adults back on their migration routes,
during our colder winter months. Pigeon
fanciers will tell you that YBKs never miss an opportunity to skewer on
of their precious pigeons and are thus mortal enemies to the breeders.
However, Kites generally prey upon frogs, reptiles and insects
but are also very efficient scavengers and it is this role to which they
have most easily adapted. They
can be seen patrolling roads looking for the unending supply of
road-kill flattened by speeding vehicles, often putting their own lives
in danger as they swoop down to snatch carrion up in front of oncoming
traffic.
There are some tall stories that
abound around the Kites. The
story goes that a fellow birder once watched a large gentleman braaiing
(barbequing) in the Kruger Park. He
laid two large pieces of worse (sausage) on the grate over the fire,
turned to pick up some chops and spent the next couple of minutes
fruitlessly looking for one of the pieces of wors.
The culprit, a YBK, was already perched in its favourite tree
swallowing lumps of this tender and tasty “snake”.
 Smallest
of the three kites, the Black Shouldered Kite is to my way of thinking
undoubtedly the prettiest. The
smart grey-and-black plumage is perfectly complemented by yellow feet
and cere and a splendid ruby eye. Its
preferred hunting method is to hover over grassland and fields while
searching for insects. This
is very expensive in terms of energy consumption and so it has benefited
tremendously from man planting thousands of handy perches from which it
may hawk.
The Back Shouldered Kite also
differs from the other kites in that it roost communally, with anything
up to 100 birds gathering in one spot, usually in reed beds.
Debates about why they do this still range but the most sensible
suggestion is that they may be able to learn about good feeding areas
from one another – not by chatting about it, but simply by observing
who is the fattest and following him or her the next day.
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