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The Whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus) is a bird found in Australia. Open country, rivers and coasts across Australia and New Guinea. It eats dead animals (carrion), insects and other small invertebrates and small mammals and birds. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Whistling kite lives

Open country, rivers and coasts across Australia and New Guinea.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🦴 Leftovers (carrion)60%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%
• 🐭 Mammals & birds10%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
• 🐟 Fish10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Whistling kite

Recorded by Stephen Bushell (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC264178. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Whistling kite

Where does the Whistling kite live?

The Whistling kite lives in Australia. Open country, rivers and coasts across Australia and New Guinea.

What does the Whistling kite eat?

dead animals (carrion) (about 60%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), small mammals and birds (about 10%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fish (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Whistling kite endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Australia & Oceania

• Flores crow
• Western bristlebird
• Red goshawk
• Erect-crested penguin
• New Zealand storm petrel
• Crow honeyeater

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.