biology

White-collared kite

White-collared kite is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand White-collared kite rather than just read about it. In short: The white-collared kite (Leptodon forbesi) is an endangered species of bird in the subfamily Perninae of the family Accipitridae, the diurnal raptors. It is endemic to northeastern Brazil.

Key takeaways

White-collared kite belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect White-collared kite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of White-collared kite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The white-collared kite (Leptodon forbesi) is an endangered species of bird in the subfamily Perninae of the family Accipitridae, the diurnal raptors. It is endemic to northeastern Brazil.

Taxonomy and systematics Until the early 2000s the white-collared kite was considered an aberrant plumage of the grey-headed kite (L. cayanensis) but morphological and other evidence strongly support its treatment as a full species. It is monotypic. The species' specific epithet commemorates the British zoologist William Alexander Forbes.

Description The white-collared kite is about 50 cm (20 in) long and weighs 550 to 580 g (1.2 to 1.3 lb). Adults usually have a grey head with a white hindneck, but sometimes only the crown is gray and in other individuals the entire head is white. They have black upperparts, white underparts, and a black tail with a whitish tip and a broad ash-white band in the middle (or two white bands with a narrow black one between them). Their scapulars, secondaries, and inner primaries have broad white tips that are typically reduced or lost through wear.

Distribution and habitat The white-collared kite is found only in parts of four states of northeastern Brazil: eastern Paraíba, eastern Pernambuco, eastern Alagoas, and southern Sergipe. It primarily inhabits the Atlantic forest though it has been spotted over mangroves. In elevation it occurs from near sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft).

Behavior

Movement The white-collared kite is mostly sedentary but has been seen flying over sugar cane fields between isolated forest patches.

Feeding Essentially nothing is known about the white-collared kite's hunting methods or diet. During the one documented observation the bird swooped from a perch, caught prey thought to be an insect, and returned to the same perch.

Breeding The white-collared kite's breeding biology is almost unknown. Single birds and pairs have been observed making fluttering "butterfly" display flights between October and January, and an active nest was found in April.

Vocalization The white-collared kite makes a flight call "kua-kua-kua-kua" and "a cat-like 'eeeAAW'" during the display flight.

Status The IUCN originally assessed the white-collared kite as Critically Endangered but since 2017 has rated it Endangered. It has a very small and fragmented range and its estimated population of between 250 and 1000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. Most of its original habitat has been cleared, primarily for agriculture, and small-scale logging continues in some of the remaining fragments. It is known from only about 30 sites, some of which are private preserves. Brazilian authorities consider it Endangered.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with White-collared kite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what White-collared kite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to White-collared kite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about White-collared kite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of White-collared kite

In research: White-collared kite appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses White-collared kite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: White-collared kite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1922, Birds of the Atlantic Forest, Endangered animals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for White-collared kite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study White-collared kite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what White-collared kite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain White-collared kite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is White-collared kite in simple terms?

The white-collared kite (Leptodon forbesi) is an endangered species of bird in the subfamily Perninae of the family Accipitridae, the diurnal raptors. It is endemic to northeastern Brazil.

Why does White-collared kite matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study White-collared kite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on White-collared kite.