Австралияның қара иықты қыран құсы

Small raptor found in Australia
an Australian species

The black shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris), also known as the Australian black shouldered kite, is a small raptor found in open habitats throughout Australia. It resembles similar species found in Africa, Eurasia and North America, including the black winged kite, a species that has in the past also been called "black shouldered kite". Measuring around in length, with a wingspan of , the adult black shouldered kite has predominantly grey white plumage and prominent black markings above its red eyes. It gains its name from the black patches on its wings. The primary call is a clear whistle, uttered in flight and while hovering. It can be confused with the related letter winged kite in Australia, which is distinguished by the striking black markings under its wings. The species forms monogamous pairs, breeding between August and January. The birds engage in aerial courtship displays which involve high circling flight and ritualised feeding mid air. Three or four eggs are laid and incubated for around thirty days. Chicks are fully fledged within five weeks of hatching and can hunt for mice within a week of leaving the nest. Juveniles disperse widely from their home territory. The black shouldered kite hunts in open grasslands, searching for its prey by hovering and systematically scanning the ground. It mainly eats small rodents, particularly the introduced house mouse, and has benefitted from the modification of the Australian landscape by agriculture. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species.

The black shouldered kite was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801, as Falco axillaris. Its specific name is derived from the Latin axilla, meaning "armpit", relating to the dark patches under the wings. The species description was based on one of four paintings by Australian painter Thomas Watling of a bird in the Sydney district in the 1790s. apparently unaware of Latham's description. English zoologist George Robert Gray followed Latham using the binomial Elanus axillaris in 1849. Gould conceded Latham's name was valid and hence had precedence, and E. notatus was reduced to synonymy. Australian ornithologist Gregory Mathews argued that Latham's description mentioned black axillaries and hence must have referred to the letter winged kite, and that Watling's drawings were inconclusive. He promoted the use of E. notatus over E. axillaris in 1916. But in 1980 Australian taxonomists Richard Schodde and Ian J. Mason refuted Mathews' claim that the original description of E. axillaris was ambiguous and reinstated the name. This has been followed by subsequent authorities. It has also been called the Australian black shouldered kite to distinguish it from the Eurasian black winged kite (E. caeruleus) and American white tailed kite (E. leucurus)—both formerly known as "black shouldered kite". Watling had recorded the Dharug term Geo ga rack. They are regarded as distinct in the IOC World Bird List. Although reported throughout Australia, they are most common in the relatively fertile south east and south west corners of the mainland, and in south east Queensland. They are rare in the deep desert and dryer areas such as western Cape York or the Northern Territory, and are occasional visitors to northern Tasmania, King Island, and the Torres Strait islands.

Black shouldered kites usually hunt singly or in pairs, though where food is plentiful they occur in small family groups and can be loosely gregarious at times of irruptions, with up to 70 birds reported feeding together during a mouse plague.