This kite is distinctive, with long wings; white, grey and black plumage; and owl-like forward-facing eyes with red irises.

The owl-like behaviour is even more pronounced in the letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus), a nocturnal relative in Australia.

They are well adapted to utilize periodic upsurges in rodent populations and can raise multiple broods in a single year unlike most birds of prey.

Now present in SouthWest France The black-winged kite was described by the French naturalist René Louiche Desfontaines in 1789 and given the binomial name Falco caeruleus.

[6] There are three subspecies:[7] This long-winged raptor is predominantly grey or white with black shoulder patches, wing tips and eye stripe.

In flight, the short and square tail is visible and it is not forked as in the typical kites of the genus Milvus.

[9] Their large forward-facing eyes placed under a bony shelf that shades them is distinctive; their velvety plumage and zygodactyl feet[10] are characters shared with owls and the genus has been considered as a basal group within the Accipitridae.

[11] They are thought to have been adapted for living in savanna habitats where seasonal rodent population peaks occur.

[12] They have a diploid chromosome number of 68 (some older studies claimed 64 for E.c.caeruleus and 66 for E.c.vociferus) with a distinct karyotype with resemblances to the kites and honey buzzards and suggesting a basal position within the diurnal birds of prey.

[13][14] The black-winged kite is a species primarily of open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia, but it has a foothold within Europe in Spain and Portugal.

Along Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines subspecies hypoleucus (sometimes considered a full species) includes the population wahgiensis described from New Guinea.

[9] Females initially feed the young, sometimes hunting close to the nest but will also receive food from the male.

[32] These birds roost communally with groups of 15 to 35 (larger numbers in Europe[33]) converging at a large leafy tree.

[39] The soft feathers of black-winged kites can lead to adherence with some grass seeds which may be dispersed by the species.