FAM. XXIX. HAWKS, EAGLES, ETC. 



197 



more or less marked with recldisli-brown, and the tail with an 

 ashy bar near the tip. The tarsus is feathered half way down 

 in front, and the ex- 

 posed portion is finely 

 reticulated. This is one 

 of the strongest of the 

 kites ; its food consist- 

 ing of birds, quadru- 

 peds, reptiles, and in- 

 sects. Common in 

 marshy regions, west 

 of the Mississippi. 

 (B 1 a c k-s houldered 

 Kite.) 



Length, 15-17 ; wing, 12^ {\^-\^) ; tail, 7 ; tarsus, 1-,' ; culmen, |, 

 Soutliern United States ; breeding north to South Carolina and southern 

 Illinois, and south throughout most of South America. Casual in Michi- 

 gan. It winters south of our territory. 



3. Mississippi Kite (329. Ictinia mississippi4nsis). — A kite 

 with slate-colored wings and back, light gray head, 

 neck, and belly, and black, unbarred tail. The 

 primaries are blotched with much chestnut. 

 The young lacks the chestnut of the wings, 

 has the head more or less streaked Avith 

 black and white, and the tail marked 

 with a few white, irregular bars. 



White-tailed Kite 



Mississippi Kite 



Length, 13-15J ; wing, 11^ (lOi- 

 12i); tail, 6h ; tarsus, H ; cul- 

 men, f. Southern United 

 States east of the Rocky 

 Mountains ; breeding 

 north to South Carolina, 

 southern Illinois, and 

 ivansas, and wintering in 

 the tropics. 



4. Everglade Kite (330. Eostrhcimus socidbilis). — A dark, 

 slate-colored kite, with the upper tail coverts and the base of 



