74 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



growth." In Argentina the South American subspecies often nests 

 in colonies. Major Bendire (1892) quotes Mr. Gibson, as saying: 

 "In the year 1873, I was so fortunate as to find a breeding colony 

 in one of our largest and deepest swamps. There were probably 

 twenty or thirty nests placed a few yards apart in the deepest and 

 most lonely part of the whole 'cafiadon.' They were slightly built 

 platforms, supported on the rushes and 2 or 3 feet above the water, 

 with the cup-shaped hollow lined with pieces of grass and water 

 rush." 



Eggs. — The everglade kite usually lays three or four eggs, but 

 sometimes only two. These are mostly oval in shape, with an 

 elliptical tendency in some; the shell is smooth but without gloss. 

 The ground color is dull white or rarely creamy white, but is usually 

 mostly concealed by profuse markings. Some eggs are heavily and 

 boldly blotched, some irregularly spotted or blotched, some finely 

 sprinkled with minute dots, and some washed with light browns, 

 "hazel" or "ochraceous-tawny", so completely as to conceal the ground 

 color. The markings are usually in shades of "chestnut", "auburn", 

 or "chocolate", but sometimes lighter browns, "hazel" or "tawny"; 

 rarely the browns are combined with "fawn color" or "cinnamon- 

 drab" in a pretty pattern. An occasional egg is largely white with 

 only a few scrawls or small spots of dull light browns. The measure- 

 ments of 65 eggs average 44.2 by 36.2 millimeters ; the eggs showing 

 tlie four extremes measure 59.4 by 37.9, 47.4 by 38.3, 40.1 by 34.8, 

 and 43.9 by 33 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation seems to be unknown. Both 

 sexes incubate and assist in the care of the young. Mr. Nicholson 

 (1926) says: "When a nest was found with young, the little fellows 

 would remain perfectly quiet and still; sometimes one would squat 

 in the nest as if to hide. The note of the J^oung birds is hard to 

 describe but is much different from that of the adult. * * * Qn 

 April 27, young kites six days old were in the downy stage, and 

 upon our return ISIay 12 they were practically fully feathered and 

 would have likely been able to fly by May 20. They showed a re- 

 markable growth in sixteen days' time." 



Mr. Menge wrote to Major Bendire (1892) : "They feed and care 

 for their young longer than any other birds I know of, until you 

 can scarcely distinguish them from adults." 



Plumages. — A small downy young everglade kite, recently hatched, 

 is sparsely covered with short down, "cartridge buff" in color, tinged 

 with "cinnamon" on the crown, with "cinnamon" and "snuff brown" 

 on the rump, and with "warm sepia" on the wings. On an older 

 downy young this first buff down is being replaced by short thick 

 down of a much darker color, "dark grayish brown." The bill in 

 both cases is long and decidedly hooked. 



