Double-toothed Kite
Harpagus bidentatus
Small hawk of tropical forests, mainly in the lowlands, that overall looks a lot like a loosely built Sharp-shinned Hawk. Most frequently seen soaring in mid-late morning, singly or in pairs, with wings bowed down, tail closed, and puffy white feathering visible under the base of the tail—a distinctive combination of features. Rarely seen perched, but can be very tame. When perched, note 3 narrow white tail bands and a black stripe down the center of the throat. The cutting edge of the bill has a double notch (hence the name double-toothed) that is rarely visible.
Identification
The double-toothed kite is 29 to 35 cm (11 to 14 in) long with a wingspan of 60 to 72 cm (24 to 28 in). Males weigh about 160 to 200 g (5.6 to 7.1 oz) and females about 190 to 230 g (6.7 to 8.1 oz). The species gets its English name from the tooth-like notches on the edge of its maxilla. Males and females have similar plumage though the females' colors are richer. Adults of both subspecies have a dark gray head with a white throat that has a dark stripe down its center. Their upperparts are a somewhat lighter gray and their tail blackish with three grayish bands and a gray tip. Their eyes are red, their cere greenish yellow, and their legs and feet yellow. The nominate subspecies has a rufous breast, a rufous belly with gray and whitish barring that sometimes extends into the lower breast, and white undertail coverts. Adults of subspecies H. b. fasciatus have similar underparts to the nominate but the rufous is paler and less extensive and the barring heavier and more extensive. Immatures of both subspecies have deep brown upperparts and whitish to buff underparts with bold vertical brown streaks.
Taxonomy
Despite its English name, the double-toothed kite is not closely related to most other kites but to the "true" hawks. It shares its genus with the rufous-thighed kite (H. didion). It has two subspecies, the nominate H. b. bidentatus and H. b. fasciatus.
- Scientific name
- Harpagus bidentatus
- Authority
- (Latham, 1790)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Harpagus
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of double-toothed kite has the more southerly range of the two. It is found on Trinidad and from eastern Colombia east through Venezuela and the Guianas and south and east into Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. A separate population is found in southeastern Brazil. Subspecies H. b. fasciatus is found from Jalisco and southern Veracruz in Mexico through the Caribbean slopes of Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras and both slopes of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama into western Colombia and western Ecuador. One individual has been documented as a vagrant in Texas.<p>The double-toothed kite primarily inhabits the interior of mature subtropical and tropical forest. It occurs less frequently at forest edges and clearings, young secondary forest, scrubby woodland, and disturbed forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to at least 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Costa Rica, about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Colombia, and 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in Ecuador.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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