Breeding and diet of White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) in the Texas panhandle

White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) are grassland raptors that typically breed along coastal regions, particularly in California, southeastern Texas, and southern Florida. This species is irregular in the Texas panhandle, with few confirmed breeding and sighting records. We describe the first breed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2019-12, Vol.131 (4), p.844-849
Main Authors: Watson, Katheryn A., Greene, Daniel U., Boal, Clint W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological surveys
Birds
Birds of prey
Breeding
breeding record
Coastal zone
Conservation
Diet
Diurnal
Elanus leucurus
Grasslands
Land use controls
Lubbock
Rare species
Records
Roads & highways
Rodents
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Texas
White-tailed Kite
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Summary:White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) are grassland raptors that typically breed along coastal regions, particularly in California, southeastern Texas, and southern Florida. This species is irregular in the Texas panhandle, with few confirmed breeding and sighting records. We describe the first breeding record in Lubbock County, Texas, in which a pair of adults successfully raised 2 young in 2017 and may have returned and nested in 2018. Evaluation of cast pellets suggested dietary composition primarily consisted of diurnal rodents. Additionally, we compiled published and unpublished sighting and breeding records for the region and discovered reports for 2 nearby counties (Crosby and Kent counties, Texas) where White-tailed Kites have nested over multiple years, as well as several more counties with sighting records. Our data indicate that the southern extent of the Texas panhandle is now part of the species' breeding or “rare” range.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/1559-4491-131.4.844