Kite is the common name for certain birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, particularly in subfamilies Milvinae, Elaninae, and Perninae. The term is derived from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *gū- , "screech."

Some authors use the terms "hovering kite" and "soaring kite" to distinguish between Elanus and the milvine kites, respectively. The group may also be differentiated by size, referring to milvine kites as "large kites", and elanine kites as "small kites".

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