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The gray-headed kite (''Leptodon cayanensis'') is a
raptor
Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to:
Animals
The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons.
* Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...
found in open woodland and swamp forests. It shares the genus ''Leptodon'' with the extremely rare white-collared kite
The white-collared kite (''Leptodon forbesi'') is an Endangered species of bird in tribe Pernini and subfamily Perninae of family Accipitridae, the diurnal raptors. It is endemic to northeastern Brazil.
Taxonomy and systematics
Until the ear ...
. It breeds from eastern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
south to Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, Bolivia, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and northern Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Description
The gray-headed kite is 46–53 cm in length and weighs 410-605 g. The adult has a grey head, black upperparts, white underparts, and a black tail with two or three white bars. The bill is blue and the legs grey. The flight is a deliberate ''flap-flap-glide''. Immature birds have three colour morphs; the light phase is similar to the adult, but has a white head and neck, with a black crown and eyestripe, black bill and yellow legs, closely resembling the Black and White Hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus melanoleucus''). The rufous phase has a reddish neck with a white throat, black malar stripes and a black, long crest closely resembling the adult Ornate Hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus ornatus''). The dark phase has a blackish head, neck and upper parts, and dark-streaked buff underparts. The sophistication in the mimicry of these juveniles is remarkable and has only been described a few times.Ecology
The gray-headed kite feeds mainly on reptiles, but also takes frogs and large insects. It usually sits on an open high perch from which it swoops on its prey. The call is a mewling ''keow''. The nest is made of sticks lined with grass and is built high in a tree. The clutch is one or two white eggs, purplish at one end and spotted brown.References
Further reading
* * * ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica'' by Stiles and Skutch {{Taxonbar, from=Q1260051 gray-headed kite Birds of Central America Birds of South America gray-headed kite