Bird 191 – Snail Kite

Before we begin, the long awaited fourth episode of the Bird of the Week podcast is now up and ready. So, if you want some audio stories about bird nests, get along and check that out. (Also on Spotify and Apple.)

But now, I want you to meet this handsome fellow.

What a majestic creature! With its lethal looking beak and long sharp talons, surely this bird would inspire all sorts of awe and respect. Well, that is until you learn its name, because this is the Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis).

And no, it isn’t called a Snail Kite because it’s the slowest of all birds, but rather because they decided the whole ‘chasing a meal thing’ was too much work, so they opted for an all-snail diet. What a lazy-ass bird, I hear you say. 

Well, I would invite you to take a step closer to me, so I can slap you in the face. How dare you! Because not only are its snail prey incredibly crafty and hard to catch, but these kites are also one of the most specialised hunters getting around.

For starters, they are picky eaters, and escargot is the only thing they’ll eat (and they’re not even French). They’re diet is almost entirely made up of Apple Snails. These are a large ping-pong ball sized snail that live in the wetlands of Florida and Central America. And while they may be slow moving, they also spend almost all their time underwater. You may have noticed kites aren’t exactly aquatic bird. This presents a challenge, for the snails only emerge from their watery home to breath, mate and lay eggs (you know, the big three). The kites either sit atop a perch or patrol the waterways on the wing, searching for the well-camouflaged snails among the reeds. 

Once they’ve latched onto a snail the kites are equipped with unique tools to dispatch them. Their long talons are perfect for wrapping around the smooth and slippery surface of a shell, and their specially hooked beaks are exactly what they need to pry all the slimy meat out of the hard-to-reach nooks. They basically evolved an escargot fork on their face.

Like many animals that are specialised hunters of one specific prey, the kites are incredibly depended on their Apple Snails for survival. During the early 2000s the snail population in the Everglades collapsed after people started mucking around with the natural water flow. The kites’ numbers likewise plummeted. They have recovered a little in recent years, and they’ve also found a new home in Central America where the Apple Snail was introduced in the 1980s as food for fish stock. For you see, wherever the snail goes the kite follows.   

So, with any luck these slim slurping birds will be with us for a while yet.

31/05/2021