Though adult Swallow-tailed Kites eat mostly flying insects, they feed their young with many types of small vertebrates - including tree frogs, lizards, nestling birds, and snakes.Adults swallow their food while flying, rarely perching during the day. Sometimes it rolls and dives backward to catch an insect behind it.
It continually flicks and rotates its tail, switching from a straight course to a tight turn in an instant as it scans for prey.
