Feathered Friends-Contest round 36-Bird eye.

Some features here of the Black-winged Kite, a raptor bird.
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This is indeed a fascinating bird that is famous for his hovering in the air above prey abilities.

But I have posted the hovering in flight actions before and today I simply wanted to show you his beauty.
There is a current #smap contest with the latest topic titled "Bird Eye" in the #feateredfriends community and this post also serves as an entry in the contest.
Come and have a look.

This is the Black-winged Kite, previously known as the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
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Winking that killer eye by blanking it at me.
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Now let me show you his landing at the top of a high tree.

Well balanced in the wind he landed by grabbing the branch with his one claw.
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Here he anchored his position by placing the other claw at the top of the branch.
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Finally he gave me that famous raptor look. I was about 200 yards away from him but he can see very far and I didn't look like a tree to him hahaha.
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Yes, a lovely bird and thankfully I have many photos of them, in flight, hovering and with large rats in their beaks whilst landing to eat the rats.
The only photo that I don't have yet is of him landing on the prey, as he is too fast for me. But I am a patient man and one day I will get him in his full strike action.
All of the photos were taken on my zoom at the Rietvlei farm in Gauteng.

For more information about this Kite visit the "Source" link below,

The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely related Australian species with the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels.
Source

And That's All Friends!

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60HS Bridbe camera.

We hope that you have enjoyed the story and the pictures.

Thank you kindly for supporting a post by @papilloncharity



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33 comments
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Wow! it's impressive the strength and balance they have in those claws to hold on to that thin branch.😯

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Thank you and yes, they have very strong claws that enables them to grab a rodent and other small animals in flight.

!PIZZA

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Yes, you're right, but I never tire of being impressed. 😁 Thanks for the slice of pizza, I'll have it for lunch!😋

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I hope you haven't finished the pizza as here is some !BEER to help it go down 😉

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Wow, wow, wow, look at that gorgeous bird! 😮
Raptors are more and more interesting and you will have your shot of the bird landing on the pray. All these images are spot on!

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Thank you Lady Neli and that guy is one of my favorites.
They even nested near our house when we lived up north and it was a pleasure to watch the youngster being trained how to hunt by the parents.
Glad that you liked the images my friend.

!PIZZA

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Oh yes, that's a beautiful bird, my friend, mighty and proud, and I could clearly see what he was thinking when he looked directly at you ... "I would love to eat you, but you're too much" 🤣


!BEER and !WINE - both make a nice dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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Good evening Hannes,

Hahaha, do he would like to eat me you say 🤣

He obviously doesn't know the Africa saying, "How do you eat an Elephant"? "Bit by bit" 🤣

Cheers and thanks.

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