48 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



these close to the nest, which was borne fifty feet upwards, and 

 swayed by the slightest breeze." He says of the nest : 



The nest consisted of small, dead larch branches, thickly interwoven with 

 a long, fine moss, or lichen, found in great abundance on the larch everywhere 

 in that region. This substance also formed a soft lining to the deep, well- 

 shaped structure. In the nest were over two hundred separate pieces, which 

 had been carried, one at a time, from a marsh a mile distant. It therefore 

 required the travelling of four hundred miles to do the work ; and there were 

 certainly as many pieces strewn upon the ground as appeared in the nest. 

 The birds also made long circuits while about the nest and at the swamp, 

 where the material was gathered, so that no less than eight hundred miles 

 must have been traversed while constructing the nest. 



The swallow-tailed kite seems to have disappeared entirely from 

 the northern portions of its breeding range during recent years. 

 Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) says: "The seemingly almost com- 

 plete disappearance of this beautiful and once frequent bird is 

 difficult to understand." 



All observers seem to agree that the swallow-tailed kite is a 

 very bold and aggressive bird in the defense of its nest. In many 

 cases the birds have attacked the climber, diving at him repeatedly, 

 dashing through the branches above him, and threatening to strike 

 him, all of which is quite disconcerting while he is clinging to the 

 slender, swaying treetop. Evidently the collector of a set of eggs 

 earns his prize. 



Eggs. — The swallow-tailed kite lays usually two eggs, sometimes 

 three; four eggs have been reported and may occasionally occur, 

 but the larger numbers reported were doubtless erroi^s. They are 

 rounded-ovate or nearly oval in shape; the shell is smooth and not 

 glossy. The ground color is white or creamy white. They are 

 usually boldly and irregularly, sometimes heavily, blotched or spotted, 

 the markings often concentrated at one end; sometimes they are 

 more evenly spotted and rarely finely or sparingly marked with 

 fine dots. The usual colors of the markings are dark browns, "bone 

 brown" to "liver brown"; but they often are brighter browns, 

 "chestnut" or "Kaiser brown", or "ochraceous-tawny." 



Occasionally a few small shell markings of light lavender are seen. 

 The measurements of 50 eggs average 46.7 by 37.4 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 50 by 39, 49,3 by 39.5, and 

 41.9 by 34.5 millimeters. 



Ymmg. — The incubation period for this species does not seem to 

 be definitely known, but for other kites it is said to be from 21 to 

 24 days. Both parents share the duties of incubation and care of 

 the young. Beyond the fact that they are very devoted and will 

 fiercely defend their offspring, very little seems to be know^n about 

 their home life. 



