First ever: black-winged kite sighted in Malta

A black-winged kite was sighted for the first time in Malta on Friday, with the bird seen in the vicinity of Buskett before flying in the direction of Siggiewi, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) announced today.

The rare bird was sighted by a CABS team on Friday at around 6pm close to the Verdala Palace in Buskett, only six hours after this year´s spring hunting season officially closed.

The activists, Alexander Heyd and Fabian Karwinkel from Germany, followed the bird for half an hour but then lost visual contact after the kite flew off in the direction of Siggiewi.

Before it disappeared the birdwatchers managed to film the bird for a few seconds.

CABS said that the observation had been reported to the Maltese Rarities Committee for birds, chaired by Edward Bonavia of Birdlife Malta.

The organisation also contacted a local ornithologist who confirmed the sighting and said that the bird had also been observed by hunters.

The black-winged kite (Latin name: Elanus caeruleus, Astun Abjad in Maltese), which has the size of a small falcon, is a species primarily associated with open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia.

In Europe the bird breeds only in Spain, Portugal and South-west France.

Pale-throated black-eared wheatear also sighted

On Friday, Bernard Farrugia, a hunter and member of Kaccaturi San Ubertu (KSU) sighted and photographed another rare bird, a pale-throated black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica hispanica or Kuda Dumnikana in Maltese).

The pale-throated black-eared wheatear photographed by Bernard Farrugia

Although the black-eared wheatear is a common migrant in spring and autumn, the pale-throated race is a scarce migrant since it is common in the west, mainly Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with some recorded in France.

KSU encouraged its members to keep an eye on all migrating birds and report any unusual sightings.