Reflections of the Natural World

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ABOUT THIS SPECIES

DOUBLE-TOOTHED KITE – (Species Account Blog #91)

TAXONOMIC TREE:  

• ORDER: Accipitriformes,
• FAMILY: Accipitridae,
• BINOMIAL NAME: Harpagus bidentatus

The Double-toothed Kite is named for its most distinguishing morphological trait, the presence of two tomial “teeth:” tooth-like emarginations on the cutting edge of the maxilla (upper mandible). The Double-toothed Kite often is seen following troops of monkeys through the canopy. These monkeys often make a large amount of commotion in the canopy of the forests and disturb many kinds of insects and lizards. To take advantage of this resource, the kite often perches within 30 meters of the foraging troop and waits for prey to flush. The Double-toothed Kite is distributed throughout the Neotropics, occurring from southernmost Mexico south to southeast Brazil. (from Birds of the World)

SIMILAR SPECIES

Though superficially similar to many small raptors, especially Accipiters, its white leg tufts, dark line down the throat and behavior are enough to separate from all other species of raptor in the Neotropics.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

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PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

In Costa Rica we observed 1 Double-toothed Kite While we were hiking the trail at Carara NP.

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PHOTO GALLERY

**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.

• A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
• PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding