58 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



of six eggs. In shape they vary from ovate to oval, and the shell is 

 smooth but not glossy. The white, or creamy-white, ground color 

 is usually largely, and often wholly, concealed by the profuse mark- 

 ings of rich browns, large blotches of dark "bone brown" or "liver 

 brown", over washes or splashes of brighter browns, such as "burnt 

 sienna", "amber brown", "hazel", "tawny", or "ochraceous-tawny" ; 

 some eggs are finely spotted with the darker browns over the lighter 

 washes, or more rarely over the Avhitish ground color ; in some eggs 

 the heaviest markings are concentrated at one end and very rarely 

 the rest of the egg or the entire egg is mainly white; the splashes 

 and blotches have a longitudinal trend. The measurements of 50 eggs 

 average 42.5 by 32.8 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 

 measure 45.3 by 33.3, 42.4 by 35.6 and 38.1 by 30 millimeters. 



'Koung. — Dr. Pickwell's (1930) evidence "indicates that the incuba- 

 tion period is not less than 30 days. Young are in the nest about 

 30 days." Probably both sexes incubate; the sexes are so much 

 alike that this is difficult to determine unless the act of nest relief is 

 seen ; such an observation does not seem to have been made. But both 

 parents are known to share in the care of the young and sometimes 

 an exceptionally aggressive pair will swoop down at the intruder. 

 Chester BarloAv (1895) relates the following: 



After leaving the female flew over and around me a few times and was 

 presently Joined by the male, both flying near and uttering a raspy, clacking 

 note which I had never heard before. This no doubt was giving vent to their 

 anger. Now and then the short, sharp whistle characteristic of the bird was 

 uttered. Soon the female flew to an oak a short distance away and the male 

 took up the battle in earnest. Soaring away perhaps 100 yards he came 

 swiftly toward me almost on a level with my head until within about ten 

 feet when he would switch upwards. Then he would soar up and swoop 

 down at lightning speed, always changing his course before reaching me. 

 The rush of his wings was plainly audible. Again he was joined by the female 

 but after a few attacks both flew to near-by trees where they remained till I 

 had departed. 



The young, according to Dr. Pickwell (1930), show the usual 

 reactions, common to all raptorial birds, when too closely approached. 

 "At first approach the young Kite spreads wide the wings and backs 

 off with mouth agape, emitting a rasping note. If the tormentor per- 

 sists, the bird thrusts its feet forward with a resultant dropping back 

 upon the tail. The third and last stage is to drop completely on the 

 back and to present the most impressive weapons a Kite has, the 

 talons." 



Plumages. — The smallest young, such as I found in the nest, are 

 sparsely covered with short, dull-white down, tinged with "pinkish 

 buff" on the crown and dorsal tracts. At a later downy stage Dr. 

 Pickwell (1930) found the young bird clothed in "heavy bluish 

 down." A nearly full-grown juvenal is a beautiful bird; the fore- 



