Snail Kite Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesSnail Kite
Adult male
In flight note broad wings and triangular-shaped tail with a dark band on a white tail. Adult males have reddish orange legs and a thin hooked reddish orange bill with a black tip.
© Ian Routley / Macaulay LibraryQuintana Roo, February 21, 2018Adult male
Found in marshes and other bodies of water with marsh edge where it forages for apple snails. This video has no audio.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 01, 1996Not all videos have sound
Adult male
Dark gray above and below with white under tail coverts. Bill and legs are reddish orange.
© Thore Noernberg / Macaulay LibraryColón, December 02, 2017Female
Females are brown above with streaking below. Most females have a white eyebrow. Note thin, curved bill.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, February 09, 2018Female
Females are brown overall with a distinctive white eyebrow. This video has no audio.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 01, 1996Not all videos have sound
Juvenile
Juveniles are dark brown above with a buffy face and dark streaking on a buffy belly. Note entirely dark bill and yellow legs.
© Theo Staengl / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, November 28, 2019Adult male
Flies with slow and somewhat floppy wingbeats. Note broad wings and white upper tail.
© Gregory Griffith / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, May 08, 1994Not all videos have sound
Habitat
Typical habitat includes freshwater marshes, edges of shallow lakes, and other flat-water courses with marsh edge.
© Corey Finger / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 24, 2015Similar SpeciesMississippi Kite
Adult
Mississippi Kites are much paler gray below than Snail Kites. They also lack the Snail Kite's white upper tail and have narrower wings.
© Ashley Bradford / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, August 27, 2016Similar SpeciesMississippi Kite
Adult
Perched Mississippi Kites are paler gray than Snail Kites and don't have the Snail Kite's slender red bill.
© Chris Davis / Macaulay LibraryTexas, June 12, 2017Similar SpeciesWhite-tailed Kite
Adult
White-tailed Kites are smaller and paler below than Snail Kites.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 15, 2017Similar SpeciesWhite-tailed Kite
Adult
On perched birds the White-tailed Kite's white head and black shoulders easily separate it from the gray-headed and solid gray wings of the Snail Kite.
© DigiBirdTrek CA / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 16, 2017Similar SpeciesHook-billed Kite
Adult male
The range of Hook-billed Kite does not overlap with Snail Kite in the U.S. Hook-billed Kites have black bill, whereas adult Snail Kites have a reddish orange bill with a black tip.
© Sam Woods / Macaulay LibraryPichincha, October 04, 2016Similar SpeciesHook-billed Kite
Adult male
In flight, the striped tail and wings of the Hook-billed Kite separate it from the plain-winged and single-banded tail of the Snail Kite.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAmazonas, December 16, 2009Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites(Order: Accipitriformes, Family: Accipitridae)
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