Snail Kite

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Snail Kite
Conservation status
Least concern (LC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Rostrhamus Species: R. sociabilis
Binomial name
Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieillot, 1817)

The Snail Kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures.

The Snail Kite is a resident breeder in tropical South America, the Caribbean and central and southern Florida, USA.

This is a bird of fresh water wetlands, which nests in a bush or on the ground laying 3-4 eggs. It is 45cm long with a 120cm wingspan. It is a gregarious species, forming large winter roosts.

The Snail Kite has long, broad, and rounded wings. It is long-tailed, with a white rump and undertail coverts. Its dark, deeply hooked beak is an adaptation to its diet, which consists almost exclusively of Apple Snails. The adult male has dark blue-grey plumage, with darker flight feathers. The legs and cere are red.

The adult female has dark brown upperparts and heavily streaked pale underparts. She has a whitish face with darker areas behind and above the eye. The legs and cere are yellow or orange. The immature is similar to adult female, but the crown is streaked.

The flight is slow, with the Kite's head facing downwards as it looks for snails.

The Snail Kite is an endangered species in the Florida Everglades in the U.S., with a population of less than 400 breeding pairs. Research has demonstrated that water level control in the Everglades is depleting the population of Apple Snails.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Rostrhamus sociabilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern