38 STOJilES ABOUT BIRDS. 



Two young kites were once taken from the nest and tamed. They 

 became very friendly and affectionate. Every morning they were allowed 

 to fly at Hberty, and they used to soar in the air, and make a great many 

 of their graceful curves. But they never went far from home, and always 

 came back to their owner. 



There is a kite in America, called the Mississippi kite, that is a bird of 

 passage, and makes his appearance with the swallows. 



He comes sailing up the grand and mighty river after which he is named, 

 sweeping along, now with the wind, and now against it. All the time he is 

 looking out for prey. The air is full of giddy whirling insects, that have 

 come out to enjoy the sun, and he swallows some of them in passing. His 

 quick eye notes every object on the bank. Yonder is something that shines 

 with a green colour changing to brown. It is the throat of a lizard that has 

 climbed up the trunk of a tree to look out for food. It feels by a kind of 

 instinct that the kite is near, and is struck motionless with fear. It does not 

 attempt to move, but seems as if it Avcre turned to stone. Another moment 

 the kite has pounced upon it, and it is seen no more. 



Sometimes the kites in that part of the world assemble in a group, 

 and sweep round and round a tree. They are catching the locusts that are 

 beginning to be a scourge, and for this very useful act one should think the 

 inhabitants ought to be grateful. 



The kites build their nest in the thick boughs of the bay-tree, and here 

 they rear their young. They are devoted parents, and feed and tend the 

 little kites until they are able to get their own living. 



A mother kite once took her young one in her claws, and carried it out of 

 the reach of a sun that was beino; fired from below. 



THE BUZZARD. 



The buzzard is a relation of the falcon, as you can see by the curve in his 

 beak. And you can tell pretty much what kind of a life he leads by the atti- 

 tude in which he stands. He has the same habits as the kite, and has been. 



