Everglade snail kite
Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus
Overall vulnerability:
Conservation status:
Federally EndangeredGeneral Information
The Everglade snail kite is a mid-size raptor named for its unusual curved bill, used to pluck snails from their shells. The Everglade snail kite is found in southern Florida with a range extending south to Cuba and South and Central America. Males are grey while females are a soft brown or cinnamon color and both sexes have bright orange legs. The Everglade snail kite feeds almost exclusively on the apple snail, which it captures near the water’s surface. Males court females by bringing nesting materials and weaving nests of sticks and vines on over-water sites far from predators. Both parents share incubation duties and breed yearly, with a peak nesting season between February and July.
Habitat Requirements
The Everglade snail kite is bound to the habitat of its prey, the freshwater marshes and edges of lakes where apple snails are found.
Habitats:
Habitat area:
- 1,220,674 hectares within Florida (modeled)
- 971,657 hectares (80%) is located on public lands
Habitat impacted by up to 3 meters sea level rise:
Climate Impacts
The Everglade snail kite is highly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation within its already intensely developed South Florida range. Habitat loss from shifting land use in these areas is likely to intensify further as the climate changes. The freshwater marshes the Everglade snail kite relies upon are also highly vulnerable to sea level rise and salt water encroachment. As a habitat specialist closely linked to its prey of choice, the Everglade snail kite is not as likely to successfully adapt to changing conditions as a species with more generalist tendencies. Also, the Everglade snail kite is presently threatened by invasive South American apple snails. The invasive snails are more challenging for young snail kites to eat. Many invasive species are likely to succeed and expand under climate change, which could intensify this problem for the Everglade snail kite.
More information about general climate impacts to species in Florida.
Vulnerability Assessment(s)
The overall vulnerability level was based on the following assessment(s):
Standardized Index of Vulnerability and Value Assessment
Vulnerability: Extremely vulnerableThe primary factors contributing to vulnerability of the Everglades snail kite are sea level rise, erosion, the presence of barriers, habitat fragmentation, alterations to biotic interactions, and synergies with development.
Adaptation Strategies
- Addressing existing threats is an important first step for the Everglade snail kite to increase resilience as climate change accelerates. This includes protecting conservation lands containing freshwater marsh habitat in South Florida from further development to the extent possible and managing invasive apple snails.
- Given the possibility for northward habitat migration, protection of habitat corridors that allow the Everglade snail kite to move with its habitat and prey is a priority adaptation strategy.