Alternate name: Everglades Snail Kite
Family: Accipitridae, Hawks and Eagles view all from this family
Description 16-18" (41-46 cm). W. 3' 8" (1.1 m). A crow-sized bird of prey with long, thin, strongly hooked bill; broad, rounded wings; and dark tail with white base. Male dark slate in color, with base of bill, face, and feet reddish. Female and immature have brown upperparts and heavily streaked breast; base of bill yellowish; feet dull orange or pinkish.
Endangered Status The Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeous), the subspecies of the Snail Kite that occurs in the United States, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Florida, but the species as a whole is not threatened in most of its range (southward of Florida to South America). The Florida population has become seriously reduced because many of the marshlands that serve as its habitat have been drained in order to develop the land. The loss of marshland means loss of the kite's prey species, the Apple Snail. The choking of marsh waters by water hyacinth also serves to reduce usable habitat for this species, because it hides prey from sight. Apple Snail populations have probably also decreased because of pesticides and other pollutants. Ongoing efforts to maintain habitat and monitor water levels and Apple Snail populations appear to have helped stabilize the Everglades Snail Kite, and there is evidence that it is currently on the increase.
Habitat Freshwater marshes and lakes.
Nesting 2-5 white eggs, heavily spotted and blotched with brown, in a stick nest placed in low bushes or in marsh grasses.
Range Resident mainly on Lake Okeechobee and in Everglades in southern Florida. Widespread in American tropics.
Voice Low cackles and chatters when disturbed.
Discussion This round-winged kite feeds exclusively on apple snails of the genus Pomacea, found in shallow ponds and swampy places. The kite's slender, sharply hooked bill easily extracts the living animal from the unbroken shell.
