The Range of the Snail Kite and its history in Florida

Abstract

A study of the status, distribution, life history, and ecology of the Snail (Everglade) Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis ptumbeus) was conducted in Florida beginning in the fall of 1967 and completed at the end of December 1980. This paper covers the distributional aspects of the study. Taxonomists have generally recognized four subspecies of Rostrhamus sociabilia, but more recently Amadon (1975) concluded that the birds in Florida and Cuba are inseparable, and he assigned levis of Cuba to plumbeus. This paper follows that opinion. The ranges of the Snail Kite and its subspecies are presented in four range maps based on a thorough review of the literature and information supplied by ornithologists working in or visiting various parts of the Western Hemisphere. The total range in Florida is mapped in detail. The original and present (1968-1980) ranges in Florida are presented. The present range was found to be about 9% of the original. The legal descriptions of localities used by kites during the 1968-1980 period are listed in Appendix 2. Records of the Snail Kite from 1844 through 1980 in the United States cover its occurrenee at 80 localities in Florida, 1 in Georgia, and 3 in Texas. The Florida localities are numbered and shown in Figure 15. The localities are grouped under 12 natural drainage systems, 3 regions, and 6 political divisions. The listing of records is as complete as possible. The range and historical data for Florida were obtained from a review of the literature, a thorough search for preserved material in museum and private collections in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, field observations throughout the state by the author from the fall of 1967 through the end of December 1980, and the assistance of cooperators. Curated collections that were found to have no kite materials from Florida are listed in Appendix 1. A complete list of preserved Snail Kite material originating from Florida is found in Appendix 3. These include 159 skins and mounts, 148 egg sets, and 1 skeleton. There appears to be no fluid (whole) specimen of the Snail Kite for Florida. Information listed in Appendix 3 includes locality at which the material was collected, date, catalog number, curatorial institution, and sex. The number of skins and egg sets at each curatorial institution are listed in Table 1. Kites have been recorded in 33 Florida counties. During 1968-1980, the most important areas in Florida for the Snail Kite were themarsh on the west side of Lake Okeechobee (Fig. 9) and the eastern and southern sectors of Conservation Area 3A (CA3A) (Fig. 13) Habitats in these two areas should be main- tained to insure their continued suitability for this species.