Ask Margaret
I was recently mesmerized by black and white birds
with split tails that appeared to be floating, rather than
flying overhead. What could they have been?
Lucky you. The birds you saw could only
be Swallow-tailed Kites, Elanoides forficatus,
Accipitridae, Falconiformes, which have been
called the most beautiful birds in the world.
As you witnessed, they move gracefully,
almost effortlessly through the air in
kite-like fashion. Their maneuverability
is quite astounding, as they glide, swoop,
spiral and even fly upside down without
seeming to move their wings. Besides
being identifiable by their astounding
overhead acrobatics, Swallow-tailed Kites
can be recognized by their sharp, deeply
forked, rudder-like tails, their long, narrow,
tapered, down-pointing wings and their
highly contrasting jet black and pure white
plumage. The birds’ bright white heads,
necks and undersides are accented by their
stark black backs, wing tops and under
edges. This stunning coloration is further
by Margaret Word Burnside
P.R., Westchase
dramatized when the sun’s rays hit just
right, causing the birds’ black plumage
to appear to turn a shiny, metallic bluish
green.
The approximately 23-inch-long,
1-pound adult male and female kites
have a wingspan in the 4-foot range and
tails that average a foot long. They have
somewhat rounded, almost sweet, pigeonlike
faces accented by black beaks. Yet,
140 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2018
these seemingly docile, elegant wonders
are actually birds of prey that are related
to hawks, eagles, ospreys and falcons.
The kites’ flying skills allow them to
feed effortlessly in mid-air, catching and
devouring unsuspecting airborne insects
like beetles, crickets, dragonflies, wasps,
bees and butterflies, along with creatures
like bats and small birds, as easily as you or
I might eat a French fry. They also have
the ability to pluck small animals like
grasshoppers, frogs, lizards and snakes
out of their treetop or grassy lowland
sanctuaries and nests. They are especially
adept when their prey is fleeing frantically
from wildfires. The versatile kites are
capable of swooping down to scoop fish
and other creatures from the surface of
fresh or salt water, snatching eggs or entire
insects and bird nests, and picking fruit
If you have any questions about the
people, places or things in the Tampa
Bay area, please send them to
“Ask Margaret” at Tampa Bay Magazine,
2531 Landmark Drive, Suite 101,
Clearwater, Florida 33761.
We regret that not all questions
can be answered.