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Bird name:

Hook-billed Kite

Chondrohierax uncinatusOrder: FALCONIFORMES Family: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Codes: Common Name: HBKI Scientific Name: CHOUNC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175449

Head

Topo Map: Hawk-like Head

Bill Shape: Hooked
Eye Color: White
Head Pattern: Plain
Crown Color: Gray
Forehead Color: Dark gray
Nape Color: Gray
Throat Color: Gray
Cere color: Yellow

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Body

Topo Map: Hawk-like Body

Length Range: 41-46 cm (16-18 in)
Weight: 278 g (9.8 oz)
Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
Color: White, Gray, Rufous or Rust
Underparts: Dark gray and white barred.
Upperparts: Gray
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
Breast Pattern: Barred or banded

Flight

Topo Map: Hawk-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Slow floppy wingbeats, soars on thermals and updrafts.
Wingspan Range: 86-97 cm (34-38 in)
Wing Shape: Broad-Wings
Tail Shape: Squared Tail
Tail Pattern: Banded
Upper Tail: Dark gray and white barred.
Under Tail: Dark gray and white barred.
Leg Color: Yellow

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Hook-billed Kite

Hook-billed Kite: Unusual tropical kite with long paddle-shaped wings. Sluggish, retiring kite that generally remains concealed within foliage of trees. Occurs in two morphs, gray and black, which is very rare to Texas. Underparts and underwings are heavily barred. Tail is banded. Yellow legs, feet.

● Song: "ke-ke-ke-ke"

● Foraging & Feeding: Hook-billed Kite: Perches and climbs among branches of trees in search of tree snails which it holds down with its foot while using hooked bill to break open shell and extract snail. Also eats frogs, salamanders, and insects.

● Breeding & nesting: Hook-billed Kite: Flimsy platform of sticks is built by both sexes. Lays two to three buff-white eggs marked with red-brown. Incubation by both sexes. Semialtricial young stay in nest 35-45 days and are fed by both sexes.

● Similar species: Hook-billed Kite: Gray Hawk closely resembles male light morph Hook-billed Kite but has much smaller bill and is lighter gray overall. Zone-tailed Hawk is larger and lacks barring on underparts, wings are not paddle shaped and are held in a dihedral in flight.

Flight Pattern

Slow floppy wingbeats, soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Range & Habitat: Hook-billed Kite: Prefers dense brushy woods on the riparian corridor along the Rio Grande and the woodlands of extreme southern Texas.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationUncommon to rare

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight9.8 Ounces

Hawk-like Head

Hawk-like Body

Hawk-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Hook-billed Kite

Head

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Body

Flight

Hook-billed Kite

Flight Pattern