small tortoiseshell vs White-Tailed Kite

Aglais urticae compared with Elanus leucurus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while White-Tailed Kite is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	White-Tailed Kite
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)
Genus	Aglais	Elanus
Species	Aglais urticae	Elanus leucurus

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and White-Tailed Kite share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

White-Tailed Kite

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	White-Tailed Kite
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

White-Tailed Kite

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

White-Tailed Kite

White-Tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway