Letter-winged Kite

1. Striking black ‘M’ or ‘W’ pattern across the white underwings

2. Bright red eyes with black eye-patches, creating an owl-like face

3. Cream-coloured feet and paler overall appearance compared to similar kites

The Letter-winged Kite is the world’s only truly nocturnal hawk or kite, hunting mainly at night for rodents such as long-haired rats, plains mice, and house mice. It hunts by flying low over grasslands, hovering before dropping silently onto prey. Unlike most raptors, it is quite vocal, with pairs using a variety of whistling and rasping calls. Its abundance is tightly linked to rodent populations: after heavy inland rains, rodent booms trigger rapid breeding and population explosions, with colonies of up to 5 pairs nesting together and sometimes multiple broods raised in succession. When prey declines, kites disperse and may starve if unable to find new food sources.

This species is found only in Australia, inhabiting open, arid and semi-arid grasslands and shrublands, especially with scattered trees or tree-lined watercourses. Its core range includes western Queensland, northern South Australia, and the southern Northern Territory, but it is highly irruptive-appearing in large numbers only when rodent prey is abundant after significant rainfall. During rodent plagues, it may disperse widely, sometimes reaching coastal regions far from its usual range. By day, Letter-winged Kites roost communally in leafy trees, becoming active at dusk.