Bird

White-tailed Kite

Elanus leucurus

Names as given by USGS GAP.

Year-round in Florida, breeding, in the USGS range maps. Its habitat models include 10 habitats found here.

Seasons here: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Range: 9 of 67 counties
Habitats: 10

Male White-tailed Kite, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Aitor, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0. iNaturalist photo 107582427. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Seasons in Florida: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Counties in known range: 9 of 67
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

Southeast habitat models (USGS, 2001 land cover). The bird is not in every place a habitat occurs. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models Year-round model

Habitats in Florida 10

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. Shared habitat, not food.

1 of 10

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouth Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundFlorida Dry PrairieLimestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouth Florida Bayhead SwampRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Year-roundSouthwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Year-roundCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Year-round

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Year-roundSouth Florida Pine Flatwoods; Central Florida Pine Flatwoods

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Year-roundCultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Year-roundFlorida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier

Other habitats in its models (99)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida.

Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Year-round
Barren Land Year-round
Mediterranean California Southern Coastal Dune Year-round
Mediterranean California Northern Coastal Dune Year-round
North Pacific Maritime Coastal Sand Dune and Strand Year-round
Temperate Pacific Intertidal Mudflat Year-round
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Mudflat Year-round
Mediterranean California Serpentine Barrens Year-round
North Pacific Oak Woodland Year-round
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Mediterranean California Mixed Oak Woodland Year-round
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Western Great Plains Dry Bur Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round
Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest and Woodland Year-round
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round
North Pacific Lowland Mixed Hardwood-Conifer Forest and Woodland Year-round
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round
Klamath-Siskiyou Lower Montane Serpentine Mixed Conifer Woodland Year-round
Klamath-Siskiyou Upper Montane Serpentine Mixed Conifer Woodland Year-round
Mediterranean California Dry-Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Year-round
Mediterranean California Subalpine Woodland Year-round
North Pacific Maritime Dry-Mesic Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Forest Year-round
Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest Year-round
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round
Mediterranean California Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Year-round
North Pacific Maritime Mesic-Wet Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Forest Year-round
Northern California Mesic Subalpine Woodland Year-round
Apacherian-Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland and Steppe Year-round
Chihuahuan Gypsophilous Grassland and Steppe Year-round
Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland Year-round
California Central Valley Mixed Oak Savanna Year-round
California Coastal Live Oak Woodland and Savanna Year-round
California Lower Montane Blue Oak-Foothill Pine Woodland and Savanna Year-round
Southern California Oak Woodland and Savanna Year-round
Willamette Valley Upland Prairie and Savanna Year-round
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Year-round
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Year-round
Klamath-Siskiyou Xeromorphic Serpentine Savanna and Chaparral Year-round
Chihuahuan Sandy Plains Semi-Desert Grassland Year-round
Columbia Basin Palouse Prairie Year-round
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Year-round
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Year-round
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Year-round
Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland Year-round
Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Year-round
South Texas Sand Sheet Grassland Year-round
Chihuahuan Loamy Plains Desert Grassland Year-round
California Northern Coastal Grassland Year-round
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Year-round
South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Year-round
Recently Logged Areas Year-round
Recently Burned Year-round
Recently Burned Forest Year-round
Recently Burned Grassland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round
North Pacific Maritime Eelgrass Bed Year-round
Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round
North Pacific Shrub Swamp Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Aquatic Bed Year-round
North Pacific Intertidal Freshwater Wetland Year-round
North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Year-round
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Emergent Marsh Year-round
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Year-round
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round
Northern Pacific Mesic Subalpine Woodland Year-round
North Pacific Bog and Fen Year-round
Mediterranean California Subalpine-Montane Fen Year-round
Mediterranean California Serpentine Fen Year-round
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Year-round
Willamette Valley Wet Prairie Year-round
Temperate Pacific Montane Wet Meadow Year-round
Chihuahuan-Sonoran Desert Bottomland and Swale Grassland Year-round
Columbia Plateau Vernal Pool Year-round
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Year-round
California Central Valley Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
North Pacific Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Tamaulipan Floodplain Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Columbia Basin Foothill Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
North American Warm Desert Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Mediterranean California Serpentine Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Seep Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Mediterranean California Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Year-round
Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Riparian Systems Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
North American Warm Desert Riparian Systems Year-round. Next to its main habitat. Next to its main habitat
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round