Snail kite

Lerner and Mindell (2005) found R. sociabilis sister to Geranospiza caerulescens, and that those two along with Ictinea plumbea were basal to both the Buteogallus and Buteo clades. They concluded that Rostrhamus belonged in Buteoninae (sensu stricto) and not in Milvinae, but noted that more investigation was needed. ==Distribution==

The snail kite breeds in tropical South America, the Caribbean, and central and southern Florida in the United States. It is resident all-year round in most of its range, but the southernmost population migrates north in winter and the Caribbean birds disperse widely outside the breeding season. ==Description==

Snail kites are long with a wingspan. They weigh from . It flies slowly with its head facing downwards, looking for its main food, the large apple snails. For this reason, it is considered a molluscivore. ==Breeding==

It nests in a bush or on the ground, laying three to four eggs. ==Conservation==

The snail kite is a locally endangered species in the Florida Everglades, with a population of less than 400 breeding pairs. Research has demonstrated that water-level control in the Everglades is depleting the population of apple snails. on 11 March 1967. The snail kite continued to decline, reaching a population of less than 800 in 2007. One factor for the decline in the 2000s was the introduction of the invasive South American snail Pomacea maculata, which were five times bigger than the native Pomacea paludosa species, and most kites could not eat the new snails. However, the kites quickly evolved to be 12% bigger to adapt to the new food source. This population gradually rebounded, reaching a count of 3,000 snail kites in 2022. Everglades conservation efforts over the course of 30 years and costing over US$20 billion also contributed to restoring native vegetation of the snail kites' habitats and flow of water in marshes. ==Diet==

This is a gregarious bird of freshwater wetlands, forming large winter roosts. Its diet consists almost exclusively of apple snails, especially the species Pomacea diffusa, P. maculata and P. paludosa in Florida, other species of Pomacea (P. doliodes) elsewhere in its range, and species of the genus Marisa (M. cornuarietis). Snail kites have been observed eating other prey items in Florida, including other freshwater snail species (such as the banded mystery snail), crayfish in the genus Procambarus, crabs in the genera Dilocarcinus and Poppiana (P. dentata), black crappie, ring-necked snakes, small turtles (including the common musk turtle, striped mud turtle, coastal plain cooter, Florida red-bellied cooter, Florida softshell turtle, and other unidentified species), rodents and carcasses (based only on a single reported case of a dead American coot). It is believed that snail kites turn to these alternatives only when apple snails become scarce, such as during drought, These non-native snails provide a better food source than the smaller native snails and have had a positive effect on the kites' populations. ==Predation==

In Florida, snail kites may be eaten by some growth stage of invasive snakes such as Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, Southern African rock pythons, Central African rock pythons, boa constrictors, yellow anacondas, Bolivian anacondas, dark-spotted anacondas, and green anacondas. ==References==