Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus)

Swallow-tailed Kite [ventral view of probable adult]. Photograph Credit: Edmund K. LeGrand; Lower East Valley Rd., Bledsoe County, Tennessee; 22 July 2011.

Abundance: Rare Visitor; 3 records in 2 Regional counties, 1 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are inadequate to determine a trend in the population visiting the Region (see alsoRegional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Visitor during late suummer and early fall (3 records); photograph (above).

Information on Records: 

20 July–12 August 2011 (1+) 0.3 mi north of intersection of Lower East Valley Rd. and College Station Rd., Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Katherine Boyles, Louis Bean [first date]; m. ob. [later dates].

C. 1–19 August 2013 (1–10) Rt. 127 c. 15 km south of Pikeville [R&D Custom Slaughtering], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (fide Scott G. Somershoe, m. ob.).

5 July 2017 (1) McMillan Ferry, Monroe County, Kentucky (Nathan Beachy photo).

Habitat: forests along bottomlands of moderate- to large-sized rivers.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: no registrations.

Remarks: Appears to require a dense population of large aerial insects on which to prey during the period when individuals have been present.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited