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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (Order Accipitriformes)

-Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Family Accipitridae)

-Genus Rostrhamus

-Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)


The Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) is a highly specialized raptor of wetlands, instantly recognizable by its graceful flight and its unique dependence on aquatic snails for food. Medium-sized and slender, it has long, narrow wings, a long tail, and a thin, strongly hooked bill perfectly shaped for extracting snails from their shells. Adult males are slate gray with black wing tips and a red eye, while females and immatures are brown with heavy streaking and have a bold pale eyebrow. Snail Kites are almost always found over marshes, swamps, lakes, and slow-moving waterways, where they fly low while scanning the water’s surface before dropping to seize apple snails, their primary prey.

Snail Kite

Rostrhamus sociabilis

Diet

  • Feeds almost exclusively on freshwater apple snails (Pomacea spp.), using its long, sharply hooked bill to extract the snail from its shell.

  • Occasionally eats other aquatic snails, small turtles, crayfish, crabs, frogs, and fish when apple snails are scarce.

  • Hunts by flying slowly over marshes or hovering briefly before dropping to pick snails from the water or vegetation.

Range

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

  • In Mexico, it occurs locally in suitable wetlands along both the Pacific and Gulf coasts, including parts of Guerrero. It is an uncommon but regular resident in wetlands of the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Inhabits freshwater marshes, swamps, shallow lakes, lagoons, flooded fields, canals, and slow-moving rivers with abundant apple snails.

Male / Female

  • Male: Slate-gray plumage with darker flight feathers, red eyes, bright orange-red legs, and a long, slender, deeply hooked black bill adapted for removing snails from their shells.

  • Female: Dark brown upperparts with buff-streaked underparts, white rump, red eyes, orange legs, and the same distinctive hooked bill.

  • Juveniles: Similar to females but more heavily streaked and with brown eyes.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished by their markedly different plumage.

Size

  • Length: 36–48 cm (14–19 in)

  • Wingspan: 99–120 cm (39–47 in)

  • Weight: 300–570 g (10.6–20.1 oz)

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