Cooperative hunting by a pair of Plumbeous Kites (Ictinia plumbea)

Abstract

Cooperative hunting, which requires the coordinated efforts of individuals belonging to the same (or even different) species to capture, or increase the probability of capturing, relatively large or elusive prey, has been reported for several species of diurnal raptors, including falcons (Hector 1986, Yosef 1991, Leonardi 1999, Eakle et al. 2004), Harris’ Hawks (Mader 1979, Bednarz 1988), and eagles (Collopy 1983, Folk 1992). This behavior is not frequently observed, most likely due to the low population densities of these birds and their furtive habits, among other reasons; thus, its occurrence may be underestimated. No records of this behavior exist for some birds of prey; in other cases, only scarce information is available. The Plumbeous Kite (Ictinia plumbea) is a species of medium size, the males being slightly larger than females (38 cm vs. 34 cm in length), although somewhat lighter (239 g vs. 255 g body mass, respectively) (Haverschmidt 1962, Rodríguez Mata et al. 2006). It is widely distributed in the Neotropics (Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2005), and its diet consists mainly of insects (cicadas, beetles, dragonflies, orthopterans, lepidopterans, and hymenopterans) mostly captured in flight, and to a lesser extent amphibians, lizards, snakes, birds, and bats (Skutch 1947, Haverschmidt 1962; Seavy et al. 1997, 2012). Only one instance of cooperative hunting by Plumbeous Kites has been documented (Seavy et al. 1997).