The snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis ) 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. Usually, it is placed in the milvine kites, but the validity of that group is under investigation.
The Snail kite is a bird of prey that lives near bodies of water where it hunts its main prey, the apple snakes. The bird has long, broad, and rounded wings, with a white rump and undertail coverts. Its 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 cere 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.
Snail kites breed in tropical South America, the Caribbean, and central and southern Florida in the United States. They are resident all-year in most of their range, but the southernmost population migrates north in winter and the Caribbean birds disperse widely outside the breeding season. Snail kites live near lakes, bogs, freshwater marshes, swamps, and other wetlands. Within these habitats, they need bushes and trees where they can roost and nest.
Snail kites are gregarious birds and form large winter roosts often with other birds such as vultures, herons, ibises and storks. During the day they usually gather in small groups to rest and preen and even to hunt together. When hunting, Snail kites fly slowly with their head facing downwards, looking for their main food, the large apple snails. These snails are captured on the depth of up to 15 cm. When the prey is caught, the kite then perches and extracts the snail with its bill. Snail kites are generally silient. When they are disturbed at the nest the birds will utter a clacking cry that sounds as 'kor-ee-ee-a, kor-ee-ee-a'.
Snail kites are carnivores. They feed exclusively on apple snails and for this reason, considered molluscivores.
The mating system of Snail kites is unknown; however, in the middle of nesting season females may leave their mates and search for new ones in order to produce a new clutch. They can produce 2 to 4 broods during the year. Snail kites nest in colonies in bushes or on the ground. The female lays 3 to 4 eggs and both parents incubate them within a month period. The chicks fledge 26-30 days after hatching and rely on their parents for food within 2 months after birth. Young Snail kites become reproductively mature by their first year of age.
Snail kites are not considered globally threatened; however, these birds suffer from the loss of their wetland habitat, the use of pesticides and other chemicals, as well as human disturbances on the nesting grounds.
According to the All About Birds resource the total population size of the Snail kite is 2 million individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are increasing.
