NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Cuba Hook-billed Kite
Chondrohierax wilsonii (Cassin, 1847)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Cuban kite; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:22:41.970154+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chondrohierax wilsonii (Cassin, 1847)
- Name authority
- (Cassin, 1847)
- Common name
- Cuba Hook-billed Kite
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Chondrohierax
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusChondrohierax R. P. Lesson, 1843
- speciesChondrohierax wilsonii (Cassin, 1847)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Chondrohierax uncinatus wilsonii (Cassin, 1847) (Cassin, 1847) | synonym |
| Cymindis wilsonii Cassin, 1847 Cassin, 1847 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824032 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5XZKL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.