Milano Picoganchudo

Identificación

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).

Taxonomía

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

Nombre científico

Chondrohierax uncinatus

Autoridad

(Temminck, 1822)

Orden

Accipitriformes

Familia

Accipitridae

Género

Chondrohierax

Distribución y hábitat

Migración

Resident species

Comportamiento

Tree snails (e.g. Bulimulus, Homolanyx, and Polymita) are a vital component of the hook-billed kite’s diet. The density of their population within a region is proportional to the presence of tree snails. It has also been observed that the beak of the hook-billed kite has adapted in size and shape between different regions of their territory in response to the species of tree snail available to them. However, terrestrial snails (e.g. Strophocheilus), aquatic snails (e.g. Pomacea), frogs, salamanders, lizards, small mammals, crabs, spiders, caterpillars, and insects are also taken. It supposedly also hunts other birds, but this seems unlikely. When it finds a tree snail it holds it with its talon and uses its beak to pry open the shell.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional

declining