Snail Kite Gallery

Rostrhamus sociabilis

The Birds of the World website introduces the Snail Kite with this descriptive information:  The gregarious Snail Kite is a medium-sized raptor that ranks among the most specialized of the world’s Accipitriformes. Formerly called the Everglade Kite or Snail Hawk, it ranges from southern Mexico to northern Argentina and resides in the United States only in peninsular Florida. It is semi-nomadic and locally common on flooded freshwater marshes, around shallow lakes, and along freshwater courses. A dietary specialist, it feeds almost exclusively on freshwater apple snails of the genus Pomacea; its sickle-like bill is well adapted for removing these snails from their shells. This kite nests in loose colonies or solitarily, has an unusual mating system, and uses communal roosts, frequently in association with Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga) and colonial wading birds.

I met my first Snail Kite on the morning of Tuesday, August 22, 2023.  Our Jeff Parker Tour group was headed to Fazenda Santa Tereza for a couple of days of watching birds and wildlife in the Pantanal Region of Brazil.  We were on MT-060 which turns into the Transpantaneira Highway when we spotted this bird near the road.  My first look was not that great, but a little further down the road we saw another Snail Kite that was closer to the road and seemed to be posing just for us! For details of my Brazilian trip that include the sighting of this bird, look here.  Below are a few of my photos of this beautiful raptor.