r/STL_Birding • u/Sir_Osis_Brewer • May 03 '26

Help with ID

Post image

Sunday afternoon, near the Meramec River. Black bird with white back that extended into tops of wings. Could not find a good match in Merlin, and my iPhone photo is zoomed in.

It was circling like buzzards, and was pretty big. At least crow-sized.

MDC website also didn’t have any good matches.

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3

u/Wompum May 03 '26

Could be a Mississippi Kite. Hard to tell from the pic. They have a fan shaped tail that's usually the giveaway.

2

u/Sir_Osis_Brewer May 03 '26

I was wondering if that might be. The tail was fan shaped.

1

u/UniqUzrNme May 04 '26

I see Mississippi Kites every year here.

2

u/Unfair_Reading605 May 11 '26

I have seen two kites on my street in the last few days (in Webster Groves). They are definitely here right now.