Snail Kite

The Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) resides from south Florida and southeast Mexico to Ecuador and north Argentina. This bird lives in freshwater marshes and sloughs. Its size is of 43 cm (17 inches) in height and 375 g in weight.

Males are slate-black with cere and feet red or orange. Females are mostly blackish-brown, with buff face, and underparts broadly streaked with buff. Inmatures are like female but buffy areas more ochraceous or rufous. They eat almost exclusively on large snails.