snail kite fe

Description:

A large member of the kite family, formerly known as the Everglades Kite. After an environmental disaster that killed much of their sole food source(apple snails) they moved southward, finding a healthy population of apple snails in Central America and especially in Belize. Dimorphic: the female is a rich mottled brown and the male is black. Main identifying feature is the long heavily hooked beak, which is used for removing the meat from the shell of the apple snail, which comes to the surface at dawn and dusk to lay eggs at the water line

Habitat:

Crooked tree lagoon

Notes:

The apple snail is obviously quite happy in the area as evidenced by masses of snail eggs everywhere(this will be a separate posting)