Cuban Kite - BirdForum Opus

Chondrohierax wilsonii

Identification

These birds have sexual dimorphism, male with gray upperside and barred underside, female similar in brownish colors. Juveniles black above, white below, with white extending to hindneck. Large bill.

Distribution

Eastern Cuba; it may be extinct by now.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Formerly considered a part of Hook-billed Kite.

Habitat

Poorly known, with recent records from gallery forest and riparian woodland. May have used other types of woodland in the past. Predominantly below 500 m asl.

Behaviour

Many aspects of its ecology is unknown. Food seems to be mainly or even exclusively tree snails.

Vocalisation

Unknown.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2) DRAFT. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Kirwan, G. M., R. O. Bierregaard, H. F. Greeney, J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, J. S. Marks, and C. J. Sharpe (2022). Cuban Kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hobkit2.01

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Cuban Kite. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cuban_Kite

External Links

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