The Slender-billed Kite (Helicolestes hamatus) is a bird of prey

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s, hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s and Old World vulture

Old World vulture

Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.Old World vultures are not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures and condors, and do not share that group's good sense of smell. The similarities between the two...

s. It is found near water in forested parts of tropical northern and central South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and far eastern Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. Both genders resemble the male Snail Kite

Snail Kite

The Snail Kite is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Its relative, the Slender-billed Kite, is now again placed in Helicolestes, making the genus Rostrhamus monotypic...

, and the Slender-billed Kite has often been included in the same genus, Rostrhamus. Adults always have yellow eyes and the all-dark tail is noticeably shorter than in the Snail Kite. Immatures resemble adults, but have brownish eyes and three (incl. tip) narrow white bands in the tail. As in the Snail Kite, the unusually shaped bill is an adaption for feeding on aquatic snails, and while it sometimes takes crab

Crab

True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s, it mainly feeds on snails of the genus Pomacea

Pomacea

Pomacea is a genus of freshwater snails with gills and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae. As Pomacea or sometimes incorrectly Ampullarius it is commonly sold as "[color] mystery snail" in aquariums in the United States.- Species :Species in the genus Pomacea...

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External links

• Slender-billed Kite (adult) photo. mountainpath.
• Slender-billed Kite (immature) photo. altabpe00.