These are white and grey raptors of open country, with black wing markings and short, square tails. They hunt by slowly quartering over mainly
savanna habitat for
rodents and other small
mammals, birds, and
insects, sometimes hovering like a
kestrel. Their primary and secondary feathers have soft barbules from the upper surface that help in owl-like silent flight. The genus
Elanus is distinctive in having very small scales covering the foot, and on the underside, scutellate scales are found only under the terminal
phalanges. The claw lacks a groove on the underside. They also have eyesight suited for crepuscular rodent hunting. The genus contains four species, all of which hunt small mammals, especially rodents, by hovering in the air while looking for them in over open savanna habitats. For some time, these species were all included as subspecies of
Elanus caeruleus, which has been known as the black-shouldered kite. The letter-winged kite breeds colonially and is nocturnal. The other species are both diurnal and crepuscular. ==Notes==