Ictinia mississippiensis

(Wilson, 1811)

Vernacular names
English : Mississippi kite
French : Milan du Mississippi

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Accipitriformes
Family : Accipitridae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach 38 cm in length for a weight up to 340 g. Females are heavier. Plumage whitish-grey with a blue tinge, darker on lower breast, nape and wings. Dark flight feathers. Small grey and black bill, black area around eyes.

Range and habitat
This species breeds in central and south-eastern USA, from Arizona to north Florida. It winters in Paraguay, south Brazil, south-east Bolivia and north Argentina. Lives in woodlands, wooded urban parks and grasslands, open woodlands.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species has declined through the XXth century and partly recovering. Vulnerable to deforestation and poisoning from pesticides.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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