Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Hook billed kite

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Subfamily
  
Perninae

Scientific name
  
Chondrohierax uncinatus

Higher classification
  
Chondrohierax

Order
  
Accipitriformes

Family
  
Accipitridae

Genus
  
Chondrohierax

Phylum
  
Chordata

Rank
  
Species

Hook-billed kite Hookbilled Kite Information and Photos

Similar
  
Chondrohierax, Bird, Gray‑headed kite, Double‑toothed kite, Short‑tailed hawk

Hook billed kite


The hook-billed kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus), is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles, and harriers. It occurs in the Americas, including the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and tropical South America.

Contents

Hook-billed kite Hookbilled Kite Audubon Field Guide

It is a mid-sized, slender raptor with an invariably striped belly and banded tail but there is probably more individual variation in color and in size of bill than in any other species of diurnal raptor. Birds from beneath can look blackish or gray (especially males) and brown or brick-red (females) variously. This renders species identification at times extremely difficult. The downcurved hook at the tip of the beak is apparent on perched and low-flying birds. Weight can range from 215 to 397 g (7.6 to 14.0 oz) and length is 38–51 cm (15–20 in).

Hook-billed kite Hookbilled kite Wikipedia

Tree snails are this raptor's favorite prey but frogs, salamanders, small mammals and insects are also taken. When it finds a tree snail it holds it with its talon and uses its beak to pry open the shell. The nest is a flimsy platform of sticks is built by both sexes. The hook-billed kite lays two to three buff-white eggs marked with red-brown. Incubation is by both sexes. Semialtricial young stay in the nest 35–45 days and are fed by both sexes. This raptor is often considered sluggish and retiring, preferring to perch inside leafy canopy when not flying.

Hook-billed kite Hookbilled kite

The critically endangered Cuban kite, C. wilsonii, is considered by some authors to be a subspecies of the hook-billed kite.

Hook-billed kite antpittacom Photo Gallery Hawks Kites and Eagles Part I

Hook billed kite chondrohierax uncinatus slide show flying along the canal


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Hook-billed kite billed kite

References

Hook-billed kite Wikipedia