Gray-headed Kite - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Cayenne Kite

Photo by rdavis
La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, December 2015

Leptodon cayanensis

Identification

43–54 cm

• Light grey head
• Grey upperparts
• White underparts

Similar Species

Similar to White-collared Kite.

Distribution

Photo by Stanley Jones
Dulce, Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica, February 2015

Central and South America.
Breeds in Mexico from southern Tamaulipas to Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula and south to Panama. In South America breeds from Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Bolivia and northern Argentina.

Resident. Uncommon in north of range.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• L. c. cayanensis:

• South-eastern Mexico to western Ecuador, the Guianas and Amazonia; Trinidad

• L. c. monachus;

• Central Brazil to eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina and Paraguay

Habitat

Tropical forest, particularly along rivers and streams, savannas and swamps.

Behaviour

Perches high in trees and can be difficult to see.

Diet

A very varied diet, consisting of insects, hornets, wasps, eggs, birds and lizards etc.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Photo by Lucas Leuzinger
  banks of the Rio Negro, Pantanal, Brazil

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gray-headed Kite. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray-headed_Kite

External Links

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