Researches different aspects of the Hook-billed Kite’s ecology in an area that gathers hundreds of individuals every year, making it a unique opportunity for study.

This Neotropical raptor ranges from the southern tip of Texas to northern Argentina. It exhibits marked sexual dimorphism and is one of the raptors with the greatest variability in plumage and beak size. Its specialized diet of terrestrial mollusks (snails and slugs) explains the hooked shape of its beak and determines its migratory and dispersal movements. In Costa Rica, it has both resident and facultative migratory populations. Despite its wide distribution and its presence in diverse habitats, basic aspects of its ecology and natural history are still unknown, even jeopardizing its current conservation status.