The kite and the snail : an endangered bird, its unlikely prey, and a story of hope in a changing world / Hilary Flower.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Flower, Hilary, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Everglade kite--Florida.

Everglade kite.

Birds of prey--Florida.

Birds of prey.

Rare birds--Florida.

Rare birds.

Florida applesnail.

Wildlife conservation--Florida--Everglades.

Wildlife conservation.

Physical Description:

xiv, 229 : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Gainesville : University Press of Florida, [2026]

Summary:

"A story of survival and hope, this book reveals how the Everglade snail kite made a surprising comeback from the brink of extinction-and what its example means for the future of conservation"-- Provided by publisher.

The unexpected comeback of the endangered Everglade snail kite and what it means for other species facing extinction today. When a bird of prey known as the Everglade snail kite became hard to find in the wetlands of South Florida where it was once abundant, scientist Hilary Flower sought answers, tracking the kite far from its ancestral home to tell a surprising story of survival and hope. The Kite and the Snail reveals how one species made a comeback from the brink of extinction through resilience and change-and what this means for the future of conservation. From remote sawgrass marshes to abandoned mining pits, from flooded cattle pastures to water-treatment impoundments, Flower meets field biologists, tribal elders, environmental advocates, and other key players who help her piece together the kite's past and present. The Everglade snail kite has traditionally fed on only the native Florida apple snail, which declined in population as wetland habitats decreased during the mid- to late twentieth century. But the kite shocked scientists by adapting to a new food source-an invasive, exotic snail that is now common across the Everglades and beyond-and quadrupling the kites' population. A rare success story in an age of increasing threats of extinction, this book traces the evolutionary and ecological factors that have allowed the kite to thrive against the odds. The Kite and the Snail asks: How can endangered species be saved when the world around them keeps shifting? Part natural history, part investigative journey, and part personal meditation, this story shows that flexibility, surprise, and human-altered habitats may play unexpected roles in saving species at risk, pointing to new approaches to conservation in the age of the Anthropocene"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

List of Figures

Vanishing Point

Searching for Kites in the Wrong Direction

The Extreme Specialist Raptor

Thinking Like a Kite

Back to the Beginning

The Case of the Disappearing Kite

Emergency Wetlands

Miracle Roost

The Secret of Grassy Waters

Periphyton Wonderland with Nobody Home

The Snail in My Kitchen

How to Make a Snail Boom

How to Bust a Boom

The Big Bang

Falling Snails

The Dangers of Lake Toho

Nuke It

The Hydrilla War

The Cattail Stumps and the Baby Kite

Are Snail Kites Trash Birds Now?

Two Hundred Snail Kites

Miracle Roost, Revisited

Giddy Up on the Snail Kite Ranch

The Snail Whisperer

Losing Home

New Frontiers

To Catch a Kite

The Heartbeat of a Kite

Acknowledgments

Glossary of Acronyms and Informal Nomenclature

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Flower, Hilary Kite and the snail

ISBN:

9780813081496

0813081491

OCLC:

1538479950

Publisher Number:

90104335035