snail kite

American  

noun

1. a bird of prey, Rostrhamus sociabilis, that travels in flocks in the American tropics and feeds on snails.

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Example Sentences

“We have also found that female snail kites prefer breeding with males with bigger beaks,” said Robert J. Fletcher Jr., a snail kite expert from the University of Florida.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2022

And the endangered Everglades snail kite is showing a fondness for an exotic species of the mollusk, another latecomer to the region.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 2, 2019

Fish and Wildlife Service’s request that it lower water in the Kissimmee River Valley to protect the snail kite nests.

From Washington Times • Jul. 8, 2016

Meanwhile, the dike that protects millions of Floridians from Lake Okeechobee is leaking, the Everglade snail kite is flirting with extinction, and invasive Burmese pythons are running roughshod through the marsh.

From Time • Dec. 11, 2010

True to its name, the foot-long snail kite eats only snails—its hooked beak is the ideal shape for plucking muscular morsels from whorled shells.

From National Geographic