Snail Kite

How to find it

In the far north, boat tours give the best view, and early morning and late afternoon work best. Access is by boat on the Río Frío from Los Chiles, or on a guided day tour. Local guides drift slowly along the river in the early morning mist and pick out small movements in the reeds and branches. Look for kites gliding low over open water, perched near lagoons, or hunting over flooded grassland. At Palo Verde, one visitor found a kite perched at the wetland edge, very close to the trail.

How to recognise it

Start with the bill: a long, thin hook. The wings are long and rounded. The rump and base of the tail are white, and the tail ends in a thin pale band. That white rump is the mark to check as one flies away.

The adult male is slate black, with orange or red legs and a red or orange cere. Females are blackish brown with a buff face and heavily streaked buff underparts. Immatures resemble females but are more rusty.

What it sounds like

Recording: Arthur, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It flies slowly with its head pointed down, looking for prey. It has been described hovering briefly before taking a snail, then returning to a perch to eat.

Unlike most raptors, it nests in colonies and roosts communally, sometimes among herons and anhingas.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives in ponds, marshes and lagoons, and has been recorded mainly in lowland wetlands. It is locally common in the Tempisque River basin, which includes Palo Verde, and in the Río Frío region in the far north near the Nicaraguan border. The Palo Verde wetland is an important dry season refuge. A regional guide calls it easy to see along the river in the Sarapiquí lowlands. Elsewhere in the lowlands, on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes, it is rare and sporadic.

When to see it

In Costa Rica it breeds from July to September, building a deep stick cup nest a few metres above the water in isolated trees in swamps. A study of a Palo Verde lagoon colony found breeding from September to January, when the lake is at its fullest.

Similar birds

The adult male looks like the Slender-billed Kite. The Snail Kite is the one with a white rump, a white tail base and a brown eye. The Slender-billed Kite has no white in its plumage and hunts in more forested habitat.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Gavilán Caracolero or Elanio Caracolero. Both names refer to its snail diet, since caracol means snail.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list, and is listed as Least Concern and common in Central and South America.

Photography tips

Boat tours give the best view, early morning and late afternoon. The kite flies slowly over water, hovers briefly before taking prey, then returns to a perch to eat, steady habits that make it a good subject. Watch a perch near a lagoon and wait for it to return.