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"Elanoides forficatus"

By: K.A.K.

Animal name: Swallow-tailed kite

Kingdom: Animalia

Characteristics that place it here:

Phylum: Chordata

Characteristics that place it here:

complete digestive system
organisms that possess a structure called notochord
bilateral symmetry
segmented body, including segmented muscles
tail projecting beyond the anus at some stage of development
ventral heart with dorsal and ventral blood vessels and a closed blood system
three germ layers
a well developed coelom
bony or cartilaginous endoskeleton present

Class: Aves

Characteristics that place it here:

Order: Falconiformes

Characteristics that place it here:

Family: Accipitrade

Characteristics that place it here:

Genius and Species: Elanoides forficatus

Characteristics that place it here:

Of all the wildlife, the most charismatic is the Swallow-tailed Kite, Elanoides forficatus.
They are the most graceful of hawks.
Swallow-tailed kites once nested in as many as 21 states as far north as Minnesota, but the species has never recovered from severe declines at the turn of the century and now nests only in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
Florida likely harbors about two-thirds of the remaining Swallow-tailed kites.
The Swallow tailed kite is considered a species of high conservation concern by Partners in Flight (PIF) and included in the PIF and Audubon Watch Lists.
The Swallow-tailed Kite is one of the western hemisphere's most recognizable and distinctive birds.
It is normally seen over forest in the tropics where it hunts for insects, small animals and small birds including hummingbirds.
They migrate south in the southern summer often congregating in large flocks which are quite stunning to observe.

Flying high on my kite

Touching the stars so bright.

In the darkness looms...

my black and white,

Swallow-tailed kite.

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