• Birds
  • Ishigaki Island

Black-winged kite

Black-winged kite

　The Black-winged Kite, whose numbers have increased on Ishigaki Island in recent years. They tend to appear when it’s overcast or near evening, but there’s no particular spot known for good viewing; they can apparently be seen anywhere.

　As they are also known in Japan as the “Black-shouldered Kite”, the shoulder part of their wings is black, making them quite conspicuous when flying.

　This kite is also found in Senegal, where I lived, and like the individuals on Ishigaki Island, it is highly wary, making it one of the birds most difficult to photograph. For this shoot, I used the NIKON COOLPIX P1100, capable of zooming up to 3000mm. Though a compact digital camera, its image quality feels comparable to, if not surpassing, that of a DSLR.

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  • Birds
  • Ishigaki Island

Black-winged kite

Black-winged kite

The black-winged kite is widely distributed mainly in the African continent, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is a rare stray bird in Japan due to its outlying distribution area, but on Ishigaki Island it has become established and breeds and can be observed all year round.
I first saw it in Senegal. It was a bird that was very wary and would fly away if I approached it even a little. When I saw it on Ishigaki Island a few years ago, I only saw it in the distance.
Recently, however, there are more and more individuals that are less cautious, and this time I was able to observe it in a very close proximity, even showing up in a residential area.
In French it is called Élanion blac, Élanion being the ancient Greek word for kite, while blac is the Middle English word for black. The meaning is black kite, but it is often called Élanion blanc (white kite) because the word blac is similar to blanc (French white).

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