_Rostrhamus sociabilis_
A dark slate-colored bird with a white rump and a
rather slender hooked bill. The young are quite
different; black above, tipped with reddish brown,
below mottled and barred with black, reddish brown
and buff, but with the white rump-patch of the
adult. L. 18.
_Range._ Tropical America north to southern
Florida.
The Everglade Kite is found in marshes and about lakes and ponds hunting
for its favorite food of large snails, which it extracts from their
shells by means of its hooked bill. It is rarely seen north of southern
Florida. The nest is placed in bushes or among reeds. The 2-3 eggs,
which are heavily marked with brown, are laid in March.