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Like other elanid kites, Black-shouldered Kites hunt by quartering grasslands for small creatures.

This can be from a perch, but more often by hovering in mid-air.

When hunting the kite hovers with its body hanging almost vertically, and its head into the wind.

Unlike the Australian Kestrel, the Black-winged Kite shows no obvious sideways movement, even in a strong breeze.

One study of a nesting pair noted that the male searched aerially for 82 % of the search time.

Typically, a kite will hover 10 to 12 metres ( 30 – 40 ft ) above a particular spot, peering down intently, sometimes for only a few seconds, often for a minute or more, then glide swiftly to a new vantage point and hover again.

When hunting from a perch, a dead tree is the preferred platform.

Like other Elanus kites, The Black-shouldered Kite grips a vertical branch with a foot on either side, each one above the other and turned inwards, which enables them to maintain a secure footing on relatively small branches.

Though hovering is the most common hunting method, the Kites have been observed searching the ground beneath a vantage point for periods of up to an hour.