62 



FOOD OF THE SWALLOW-TAILED FALCON. 



for Severn,! days in succession, and slowly passing to their winter quarters along the 

 Gulf of Mexico." 



Audubon remarks that it has never been seen farther eastward than Pennsylvania, and 

 that only a few solitary individuals have been discovered in that locality. Towards the 

 south it becomes more numerous, and in Louisiana and Mississippi it is extremely abun- 

 dant, arrivinrv in considerable numbers at the beginning of April, as many as a hundred 

 having been counted in the space of a single hour, all passing directly from east to west. 



On their first arrival they are so 

 fatigued with their journey that 

 * ---^^^_ they are easily approached; but 



^ owing to their habit of soaring 



at an immense height, they are 

 tolerably safe even from man at 

 all other seasons. 



This falcon bears so strong an 

 external resemblance to the swal- 

 low, that it might easily be taken 

 for a common swallow or swift, as 

 it flies circling in the air in 

 search of the insect prey on which 

 it usually feeds. Even the flight 

 is veiy much of the same charac- 

 ter in both birds, and the mode 

 of feeding very similar. The usual 

 food of the Swallow-tailed Kite 

 consists of the larger insects, which 

 it either catches on the wing, or 

 snatches from the leaves as it 

 shoots past the bushes. Various 

 locusts, cicadffi, and other insects, 

 are captured in this manner. It 

 also follows the honey buzzard in 

 its fondness for wasps and their 

 larv;e, and has been noticed to 

 excavate a wasp's nest, and to tear 

 away the comb precisely like that 

 bird. Eeptiles, such as small 

 snakes, lizards, and frogs, also 

 form part of the food of this 

 elegant bird. While it is engaged 

 in the pursuit of such prey, or in 

 catching the large insects upon 

 the branches, it may be approached 

 and shot without much difficulty, 

 as it is so intent upon its prey 

 that it fails to notice its human foe. 

 Audubon found that when he 

 had succeeded in killing one of these birds, he could .shoot as many more as he cho.se, 

 because they have a habit of circling round the body of their slaughtered comrade, and 

 sweep round it as if they were endeavouring to carry it away. Taking advantage of 

 this peculiarity, he was enabled to procure as many specimens as he desired, shooting 

 them as fast as he could reload his gun. 



The nest of the Swallow-tailed Hawk is generally found on the very summit of some 

 lofty rock or pine, and is almost invariably in the near vicinity of water. It is conqiosed 

 of small sticks externally, and is lined with grasses, moss, and feathers. The eggs are 

 rather more numerous than is generally the case with the Hawks, being from four to six 



k-->*tv,>- 



SW.VLLOW-TAII.EIJ F.\LCUN.— VStoiioiite farenhis. 



