Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderAccipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
- FamilyAccipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
- GenusIctinia (Mississippi and Plumbeous Kites)
- SpeciesIctinia plumbea (Plumbeous Kite)
About the Plumbeous Kite
The plumbeous kite (Ictinia plumbea) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it catches either from a perch or while in flight.
The plumbeous kite was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the eagles, hawks and relatives in the genus Falco and coined the binomial name Falco plumbeus. Gmelin based his description on the "spotted-tailed hawk" that had been described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham from a specimen from Cayenne in a private collection in London. It is now placed with the Mississippi kite in the genus Ictinia that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek iktinos for a kite. The specific epithet plumbea is from Latin plumbeus meaning "leaded", "plumbeous" or "lead-coloured". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The plumbeous kite is 34–37.5 cm... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Plumbeous Kite in El Impenetrable National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at El Impenetrable National Park
Mississippi Kite
Ictinia mississippiensis
Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostris
Great Black-Hawk
Buteogallus urubitinga
Crane Hawk
Geranospiza caerulescens
Savanna Hawk
Buteogallus meridionalis
Hook-billed Kite
Chondrohierax uncinatus
Black-collared Hawk
Busarellus nigricollis
Harris' Hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Kite
Elanus leucurus
American Swallow-tailed Kite
Elanoides forficatus
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus
Pearl Kite
Gampsonyx swainsonii
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.