Basic Description. The highly specialized Snail Kite flies on broad wings over tropical wetlands as it hunts large freshwater snails.
The snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures.
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It is the story of the snail kite, a bird once on the brink of extinction but now finding a second home in the mid-size city of Gainesville.
Snail kite
Bird
The snail kite is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Its relative, the slender-billed kite, is now again placed in Helicolestes, making the genus Rostrhamus monotypic. Wikipedia
Conservation status: Least Concern (Population increasing)
Scientific name: Rostrhamus sociabilis
Mass: 13 oz
Class: Aves
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Rostrhamus; Lesson, 1830
Source: Encyclopedia of Life
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The Snail Kite is a bird of prey with a very particular appetite: it feeds almost exclusively on apple snails, a freshwater mollusk that occurs in Central and ...
The Snail Kite is quite gregarious and can spend time in large flocks, whether it is traveling to a roost site at dusk or foraging for food in loose groups.
The Everglade snail kite is a mid-sized raptor that can reach a length of 14.2-15.4 inches (36-39 centimeters) (Sykes et al. 1995).
This broad-winged bird glides slowly and low over the sawgrass. It has no need for fast flight, because it seeks only snails -- and only one particular sort, ...
Mar 14, 2023 · The Everglade snail kite is a raptor, similar to a hawk, that eats just one thing: snails. Over the last century, as much of the Everglades was ...
Size & Shape. A distinctively shaped, medium-sized raptor with broad, almost paddle-shaped wings, a long, broad tail, long legs, and a thin, hooked bill.
The Snail Kite has one of the most specialized tools among raptors: a long, deeply curved beak designed to pull snails out of their shells.