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Snail Kite

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	Snail Kite
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	Topics Snail Kite Topic Home The Snail Kite, *Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a bird of preyBird of prey A bird of prey* or raptor is a bird that hunts for food primarily using its talons.... within the family AccipitridaeAccipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the two main families within the order Falconiformes.... , which also includes the eagleEagle Eagles are large birds of prey which inhabit mainly the Old World, with only two species commonly found in North America, a... s, hawkHawk The term hawk refers to birds of prey in any of three senses:... s and Old World vultureOld World vulture Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks.... s. Its relative, the Slender-billed KiteSlender-billed Kite The Slender-billed Kite, Rostrhamus hamatus, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagle... , is now again placed in Helicolestes, making the genusGenus In the binomial nomenclature used worldwide, the name of an organism is composed of two parts: its genus name and a species... *Rostrhamus* monotypicMonotypic Summary Monotypic is an adjective, that refers to a taxonomic group with only one type:... . Usually placed in the milvine kites, the validity of that group is under investigation. Description Snail Kites are 45cm long with a 120cm wingspan. They have long, broad, and rounded wings. It is long-tailed, with a white rump and undertail coverts. The dark, deeply hooked beak is an adaptation to its diet. The adult male has dark blue-gray plumage with darker flight feathers. The legs and cereCère The C?re is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River.... 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 large apple snailSnail The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells.... s, its main food. Distribution and ecology The Snail Kite breeds in tropical South AmericaFacts About South America South America is a continent situated in the western hemisphere and, mostly, the southern hemisphere, bordered on the west b... , the CaribbeanCaribbean The Caribbean is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts.... and central and southern FloridaFacts About Florida Florida is a U.S. state located in the southeastern United States.... , USA. It is resident all-year in most of its range, but the southernmost population migrates north in winter and the Caribbean birds disperse widely outside the breeding season. The Snail Kite is a locally endangered species in the FloridaFlorida Florida is a U.S. state located in the southeastern United States.... EvergladesEverglades The Florida Everglades are subtropical marshlands located in the southern portion of 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. However, this speciesSpecies In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity.... is not generally threatened over its extensive range. In fact, it might be locally increasing in numbers, such as in Central AmericaCentral America Overview Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas.... . In El SalvadorEl Salvador El Salvador is a country in Central America with a population of approximately 6.9 million people.... , it was first recorded in 1996. Since then, it has been regularly sighted, including immature birds, suggesting a resident breeding population might already exist in that country. On the other hand, most records are outside the breeding season, more indicative of post-breeding dispersal. In El Salvador, the species can be observed during the winter months at Embalse Cerrón Grande, Laguna El Jocotal and especially Lago de Güija. Pomacea flagellata apple snails were propagated in El Salvador between 1982 and 1986 as food for fish stocks, and it seems that the widespread presence of high numbers of these snails has not gone unnoticed by the Snail Kite. This is a gregarious bird of freshwater wetlands, forming large winter roosts. Its diet consists almost exclusively of apple snails. On May 17 2007, a birdwatcher photographed a Snail Kite feeding at a crawfish farm about 35 southeast of Columbia, South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of and largest city in the U.S.... . The discovery, if confirmed by the South Carolina Bird Records Committee, may lead to testing of crawfish as an alternative food for the bird. It nests in a bush or on the ground, laying 3-4 eggs.