23: 



THE MUSEUM. 



I^B 



SWALLOW-TAIL KITE AND TW^O SETS OF TWO EGGS EACH, IN COLLECTION 

 OF MR. C. E. DOE. PROVIDENCE, R. I. From Photo. 



instead of flying directly from one side, 

 as other birds do, it nearly alwa^ s 

 rises straight up for a short distance 

 first, as if it were pushed up with a 

 spring, and, when about to alight on 

 its nest, it will poise itself a short dis- 

 tance above its eggs and then grad- 

 ually lower itself down on to them. 

 When they are thus poised above their 

 nests there is scarcely a perceptible 

 movement of their wings, and they 

 often lower themselves so gradually 

 that one can hardly tell when they 

 have reached their eggs. 



"The Swallow-tailed Kite is, on the 

 whole, a perfectly harmless and bene- 



ficial bird, feeding to great extent on 

 reptiles of various kinds, beetles, grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, cotton worms, small 

 frogs, and tree toads. It is doubtful 

 if it ever kills a bird. 



"In Texas, the Indian .Territory, 

 and Kansas, this species builds fre- 

 quently in the tops of the tallest Cot- 

 tonwood trees, occasionally in pine oaks 

 or pecans, where these are found, and 

 always as near to the tops of trees as 

 the nest can safely be placed. 



"Nidification varies according to 

 locality, beginning about the first week 

 in April in the more southern portions 

 of its breeding range, and correspond- 

 ingly later farther north, sometimes 



