A raptor with narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. It catches prey in flight and also hunts small vertebrates during the breeding season.
The head and underparts are white, while the back and wings are dark. Its narrow wings and deeply forked tail stand out.
J. F. Milera compiled 62 American Swallow-tailed Kite records from Cuba during the 20th century. The records include 59 observations by Milera and collaborators and three from earlier literature. They span January, February, March, August, September, and October, from Bahía Honda to Cayo Santa María in Villa Clara.
On 9 March 1995, flocks of 21 and 17 birds flew north at about 30–40 metres over Finca La Chata in Boyeros. Milera interpreted the northbound movement as a return toward the southern and southwestern United States after wintering in South America. The other reported observations in the paper were of single birds.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The Cuban records show northbound flocks in March, while the paper reports single birds in the other recorded months. Milera interpreted the March movement as a return toward the southern and southwestern United States after wintering in South America.