The black-shouldered kite (ស្ទាំងលលក) or the black-winged kite is a kite species in tropical Asia. Just to clarify, it also has a relative in Australia that goes by the same name. It is a small bird of prey that is now one of the species targeted by the illegal pet trade in Cambodia. This is a big concern because some sellers even provide order services on social media. The main places where the chicks are sold are Battambang, Siem Reap, and the capital city Phnom Penh. Some buy them as pets while others want to use them as pest controllers. We are going to dive deeper into black-shouldered kites in this article, so check it out.
Appearance
A black-shouldered kite is around 35 centimeters in length, with long falcon-like wings at a span of 80 to 100 centimeters. It is so easy to recognize an adult species due to its predominantly white plumage with pale gray crown, neck, and upper parts. There is a black comma-shaped marking in front of and stretches over and behind its deep red eyes. By the look, you can tell that the black patches on its wings give the species its name.
Behavior
Generally, a black-shouldered kite is silent so they are vocal during the breeding season from late February to early August. During those times, black-shouldered kites make weak persistent calls to find mates and contact each other. These birds are diurnal so they hunt during the day, particularly early in the morning and mid to late afternoon. Large groups of black-shouldered kites of up to 70 birds also sometimes hunt together when food is abundant. However, they rather hunt singly or in pairs while being territorial when the food source is limited. When hunting, it drops silently onto its feet first with its wings raised high. A black-shouldered kite uses its strong talons to seize the prey which it consumes in flight or carries back to a perch.
Feeding & Habitats
Just like many birds of prey, black-shouldered kites also like house mice. In fact, they love following outbreaks of mouse plagues in rural areas which is very beneficial for people. Apart from this favorite meal, they also feed on crickets, frogs, grasshoppers, injured birds, large insects, lizards, rats, and small reptiles. The thing is that mice or mouse-sized mammals are in 90% of this bird’s diet.
It is a species in Sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia but also has some population in Portugal and Spain. The black-shouldered kites are found in open lands or semi-deserts with trees where they can live in. They prefer areas with grass or groundcover that they can easily access from the air to catch prey. At the same time, they also like native grasslands such as cereal crops, pastures, vegetable crops, and vineyards. It is also common to see them in urban areas, mostly wasteland but also sports fields like golf courses.
On The Market
For black-shouldered kites, there are 3 main reasons why people keep buying them on the market. As mentioned above, the purposes are for pets, pest control, and merit.
- As Pets: It is a thrill for some people to have exotic or wild animals as pets. For some reason, black-shouldered kites are the easy options for beginnings. The intention is to just train them and let them fly so that they can record the videos and post them on social media. Soon enough, they will get bored because a cage black-shouldered kite is both noisy and shy. Simply put, they are not for pets so the excitement to have them never lasts long.
- As Pest Controllers: Sometimes farmers buy them to release on their farms to control the population of rodents. Considering that black-shouldered kites are not cheap, the farms must be large.
- For Merit: It is a thing for Cambodian people to release birds to obtain merit. Buddhists believe that releasing a bird is giving freedom to them which is a good deed, act, or thought. This is why it is common to see birds in cages sold to people who wish to release them. And black-shouldered kites appear to be one of those birds for some unknown reasons.
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