Elanus

Elanus is a genus of bird of prey in the elanid kite subfamily. It consists of four species.

The first three species above were considered conspecific as subspecies of Elanus caeruleus, which has been known as the black-shouldered kite.

These are white and grey raptors of open country, with black wing markings and a short square tail. They hunt by slowly quartering the habitat for rodents and other small mammals, birds and insects, sometimes hovering like a kestrel.