The white-collared kite (''Leptodon forbesi'') is an

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in tribe Pernini and subfamily

Perninae The raptor subfamily Perninae includes a number of medium-sized broad-winged species. These are birds of warmer climates, although the ''Pernis'' species (European honey buzzard and crested honey buzzard) have a more extensive range. Several of ...

of family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...

, the diurnal raptors. It is endemic to northeastern

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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Until the early 2000s the white-collared kite was considered an abberant plumage of the grey-headed kite (''L. cayanensis'') but morphological and other evidence strongly support its treatment as a full species.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022 It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

. The species' specific epithet commemorates the British zoologist

William Alexander Forbes William Alexander Forbes (25 June 1855 – 14 January 1883) was an English zoologist. He was the son of James Staats Forbes (1823–1904). Forbes studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge, and later taught at Rhodes College ( ...

Description

The white-collared kite is about long and weighs . Adults usually have a grey head with a white hindneck, but sometimes only the crown is gray and in other individuals the entire head is white. They have black upperparts, white underparts, and a black tail with a whitish tip and a broad ash-white band in the middle (or two white bands with a narrow black one between them). Their

scapulars The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either ...

, secondaries, and inner

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

have broad white tips that are typically reduced or lost through wear.Bierregaard, R. O., D. A. Christie, G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). White-collared Kite (''Leptodon forbesi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whckit1.01 retrieved December 8, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The white-collared kite is found only in parts of four states of northeastern Brazil: eastern Paraíba, eastern

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

, eastern

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...

, and southern

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

. It primarily inhabits the Atlantic forest though it has been spotted over mangroves. In elevation it occurs from near sea level to .

Behavior

Movement

The white-collared kite is mostly sedentary but has been seen flying over sugar cane fields between isolated forest patches.

Feeding

Essentially nothing is known about the white-collared kite's hunting methods or diet. During the one documented observation the bird swooped from a perch, caught prey thought to be an insect, and returned to the same perch.

Breeding

The white-collared kite's breeding biology is almost unknown. Single birds and pairs have been observed making fluttering "butterfly" display flights between October and January, and an active nest was found in April.

Vocalization

The white-collared kite makes a flight call "kua-kua-kua-kua" and "a cat-like 'eeeAAW'" during the display flight.

Status

The IUCN originally assessed the white-collared kite as Critically Endangered but since 2017 has rated it Endangered. It has a very small and fragmented range and its estimated population of between 250 and 1000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. Most of its original habitat has been cleared, primarily for agriculture, and small-scale logging continues in some of the remaining fragments. It is known from only about 30 sites, some of which are private preserves. Brazilian authorities consider it Endangered.