Diet

• Specializes in feeding on tree snails, which it extracts from their shells with its strongly hooked bill.

• Also eats slugs, insects, frogs, lizards, small birds, eggs, and occasionally small mammals.

• Hunts by searching trees and branches for arboreal snails and other prey.

Range

• Found from southern Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America to northern Argentina.

• In Mexico, it occurs mainly in the tropical lowlands of both the Pacific and Gulf slopes, including the Zihuatanejo region, although it is generally uncommon and local.

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical evergreen forests, gallery forests, forest edges, mangroves, and mature secondary forests.

• Generally a year-round resident.

Male / Female

• Male: Occurs in light, intermediate, and dark colour morphs; slightly smaller than the female. All morphs have the characteristic strongly hooked bill.

• Female: Similar in plumage and also occurs in multiple colour morphs but is noticeably larger and heavier.

• Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished by plumage; size is the primary field difference.

• Both sexes have variable bill sizes, reflecting adaptation to different sizes of tree snails.

Size

• Length: 38–51 cm (15–20 in)

• Wingspan: 76–91 cm (30–36 in)

• Weight:

  • Male: 250–350 g

  • Female: 350–500 g