Cuban kite
Chondrohierax wilsonii (Cassin, 1847)
CRCritically Endangeredbirds of prey
The cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 264 g to 310 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.
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Quick facts about the cuban kite
- Weight
- 264 g – 310 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the cuban kite live?
Not recorded
What is the cuban kite?
The Cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers. The species was originally described in 1847 by John Cassin from material at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It is endemic to Cuba.
The Clements Checklist considered it as subspecies of the hook-billed kite until its 2022 revision. A molecular phylogenetics analysis using mitochondrial DNA suggests that it warrants species status having diverged from the mainland lineage approximately 400,000 to 1.5 million years ago.
From the Wikipedia article “Cuban kite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cuban_kite&oldid=1380661094), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cuban kite endangered?
The cuban kite is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.
How is the cuban kite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusChondrohierax
- SpeciesChondrohierax wilsonii (Cassin, 1847)
Synonyms Chondrohierax megarhynchus wilsonii, Chondrohierax uncinatus wilsonii, Cymindis wilsonii, Regerhinus wilsonii
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- Cuba hook-billed kiteEnglish
- Cuban hookbilled kiteEnglish
- Cuban hookbilled kiteEnglish
- Barged KubaBreton
- milà de CubaCatalan
- hákozobec kubánskýCzech
- luňákovec kubánskýCzech
- CubabazaDanish
- KubaweihGerman
- Kuba-LangschnabelweihGerman
- Kuba-LangschnabelweiheGerman
- Kuba-SchneckenweiheGerman
- KubalangschnabelweihGerman
- Wilsons LangschnabelweiheGerman
- kuba milvoEsperanto
- Milano de CubaSpanish
- Gavilán caguareroSpanish
- Milan de CubaFrench
- Bec-en-croc de CubaFrench
- kubanska lunjaCroatian
- kubai csigászhéjaHungarian
- Nibbio cubanoItalian
- 쿠바갈고리부리솔개Korean
- kubinis ilgasnapis peslysLithuanian
- Cubaanse LangsnavelwouwDutch
- kubaglenteNorwegian
- hakodziób kubańskiPolish
- milhafre-cubanoPortuguese
- Caracoleiro-cubanoPortuguese
- Коршун ВильсонаRussian
- Кубинский улиткоедRussian
- luň kubánskySlovak
- kubagladaSwedish
- Küba çaylağıTurkish
- шуляк кубинськийUkrainian
- 古巴鉤嘴鳶Chinese
- 古巴钩嘴鸢Chinese
Relatives of the cuban kite
Other species in the same genus Chondrohierax.
Hook-billed kite
Chondrohierax uncinatus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cuban kite?
An adult cuban kite weighs 264 g – 310 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cuban kite endangered?
The cuban kite is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the cuban kite?
The cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuban-kite
“Cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuban-kite.
@misc{cuban_kite_2026,
title = {Cuban kite (Chondrohierax wilsonii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuban-kite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}