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Snail kites are tropical birds and in the continental US they are found only in southern Florida. As their name implies, they feed primarily -- maybe exclusively -- on large freshwater snails. Adult males, as shown here, are dark slaty gray-black with extensive white areas in the tail; females are brownish. Both sexes have the long, curved bill visible in these photos; apparently it is used to extract snails from their shells. One of these kites (above) was photographed by a small lake in Cali, Colombia. The darker bird below was a 'grab shot' from the Tamiami trail highway at the north end of Everglades National Park. It perched briefly in a small bush and barely gave me time to get off a few shots with a hand-held long lens before taking off to search for snails. |
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