166 THE Birps Asout Us. 
the Southern States. Its splendid flight-power makes 
it an attractive bird, and in soaring it often reaches 
an altitude equal to that attained by the turkey-buz- 
zard. It feeds upon insects, lizards, snakes, and such 
small fry rather than upon birds. 
In Florida occurs the Everglade Kite, a bird dis- 
covered in recent years as an inhabitant of that penin- 
sula. It is stated by W. E. D. Scott that 
‘their food at this point apparently consists of a kind of large 
fresh-water snail which is very abundant. .. . They fish over the 
shallow water, reminding one of gulls in their motions; and having 
secured a snail by diving, they immediately carry it to the nearest 
available perch, when the animal is dexterously taken from the shell 
without injury to the latter.” 
Those who are familiar with wide reaches of 
meadows in the Middle and New England States 
must often have seen a broad-winged hawk, of large 
size, swoop gracefully over the tall grasses, and with 
quick motions of the wings appear to sweep the tops 
of the reeds and bulrushes, as if to start from their 
lurking-places whatsoever of wild life might be hiding 
there. This is the Marsh-hawk. The male bird is, 
when matured, of a uniform pale-blue color as seen 
flying, and the female rich brown, with a white band 
at the base of the tail. In August, when the bobo- 
links—now “ reed-birds”—and red-winged blackbirds 
come to the meadows by the thousands, these hawks 
are ever ready to snap up the unwary or weakly ones, 
and having learned the significance of a pot-shooter’s 
gun, have been seen to swoop down and carry off 
many a wounded bird. Mice, too, are captured in 
great numbers, and this fact should commend the 
