IDENTIFICATION

VOCALISATIONS

The commonly heard call is moderately high-pitched note that rises and falls in pitch; also, a harsh ‘skeer’. Both can be heard in this recording.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE

Black-winged Kite occurs in marshes, agricultural land and in-filled fish ponds. Most reports are from the Deep Bay area and other open country areas in the New Territories, but it is also occasionally reported in the eastern New Territories and on Lantau, Cheung Chau and Tung Ping Chau. On Po Toi it has been recorded from 25 March to 13 May and on 6 August and 24 September.

OCCURRENCE

Following the first record of one at Ha Tsuen during 14-18 February 1984 (Chalmers 1987), single migrants were reported almost annually on eight dates in February or April until spring 1991, mainly at Mai Po. From November 1991 to April 1996 one or two birds were regularly reported in all months in Deep Bay and occasionally at other sites. During this period, it appeared to be establishing itself as a scarce and sporadic breeding species in the open country of the Deep Bay and border areas. However, a marked decline occurred after April 1996 with one further report in that year, none in 1997 and single birds on five dates in March and October 1998.

Since 1998 it has mainly occurred in autumn from the last week of August to the end of November (Figure 1). Records decline as winter progresses and very few birds are noted from the second week of February to the end of June, apart from possibly a weak passage of birds in the last week of April and first half of May. The highest count is of three birds at Mai Po NR on 27 September and 16 November 2020.

BREEDING

Breeding may have occurred in HK, but this is not proven. In 1995 birds in the Mai Po area were observed displaying on 17^th and 19 April and copulating six days later. There have been no further records of such behaviour, however.

BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET

Birds have been observed taking or feeding on rodents and pursuing Dusky Thrushes. Often seen in a leisurely flight over foraging areas searching for prey or perched conspicuously for long periods near the top of a leafless tree, especially at Mai Po where it can be seen daily in autumn.

RANGE & SYSTEMATICS

Largely resident or nomadic in southwest Europe, Africa along the north coast, the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara, and from the Indian subcontinent east to south China and south through southeast Asia to the Greater and Lesser Sundas and New Guinea (Kemp et al. 2020. In China locally common in the south and east (Liu and Chen 2020) but has spread north at least as far as Beijing where it is a scarce but increasing passage migrant that may have bred (Birding Beijing 2020).

Three subspecies are recognised, of which E. c. vociferus occurs from Pakistan to east China, including HK. The nominate occurs to the west and E. c. hypoleucos to the south.

CONSERVATION STATUS

IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend stable.