These Kites are usually seen in marshes, farmlands and grassy foothills. They mostly eat California Voles and other rodents, but also eat birds, snakes, lizards, frogs and large insects.

White-tailed Kite identification tips: White-tailed kites have white heads, tails and underparts with black shoulders and black carpal patches. Older field guides call it the Black-shouldered kite. White-tailed kites hunt by hovering over a field or marsh and stoop on prey with the wing held up.

The adult has light grey above, white below with black shoulder patches and a black wrist patch on the underside of the wings. Immature kites have a narrow dusky band near the tip of the tail and a rufous wash across the breast. Their nests are platform nests of sticks and twigs lined with grass, weeds, and rootlets, and are placed in a tree five to sixty feet high. They lay three to six eggs, white with dark marks.

Length: 15 inches

Wingspan: 39 inches

Habitat: Grasslands with scattered trees, near marshes, along highways.

Voice: A repeated short "chip chip chip", a longer "kree-eek" given during mild alarm.

Other Behavior: gregarious with communal feeding and roosting areas from fall through spring, and communal roosts of non-breeding birds during breeding season.