Rostrhamus sociabilis
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Its relative, the slender-billed kite, is now again placed in Helicolestes, making the genus Rostrhamus monotypic. Usually, it is placed in the Milvine kites, but the validity of that grouping is under investigation.
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.
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.
Snail kites are 36 to 48 cm (14 to 19 in) long with a 99–120 cm (39–47 in) wingspan. They weigh from 300 to 570 g (11 to 20 oz). There is very limited sexual dimorphism... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 4 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Snail Kite sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 234th most-seen of the 279 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Snail Kite in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Snail Kite sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
30th of 30
Of the 30 parks where we can rate Snail Kite sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Lago de Yojoa (Honduras, about 60%), Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Snail Kite that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Red-shouldered Hawk (about 30%), Bald Eagle (about 30%) and Hen Harrier (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Snail Kite is recorded against all the birds logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
