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This adult male Snail Kite was photographed near the Miccosukee Indian Restaurant in the Shark Valley area of Everglades National Park in Florida. The Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeous), the subspecies of the Snail Kite that occurs in the United States, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Florida, but the species as a whole is not threatened in most of its range (southward of Florida to South America). The Florida population has become seriously reduced because many of the marshlands that serve as its habitat have been drained in order to develop the land. The loss of marshland means loss of the kite's prey species, the Apple Snail. The choking of marsh waters by water hyacinth also serves to reduce usable habitat for this species, because it hides prey from sight. Apple Snail populations have probably also decreased because of pesticides and other pollutants. Ongoing efforts to maintain habitat and monitor water levels and Apple Snail populations appear to have helped stabilize the Everglades Snail Kite, and there is evidence that it is currently on the increase.