1 6 Barlow, Nesting Habits of White-tailed Kite. Y]t^ 



where they will remain for years, zealously guarding their domain 

 against intruders, and nesting from year to year within a small 

 radius, sometimes in the same tree. If their first laying of eggs 

 be taken they will, as a rule, construct a new nest and lay a 

 second time, and only in one instance did I find the same nest 

 used twice in the same season. 



My experience with the White-tailed Kite dates back to 1887, 

 when a pair of birds were found in a secluded live oak pasture. 

 They were commonly known as ' White Hawks ' and it was not 

 until several years later that I succeeded in finding my first nest. 

 These birds frequented the same localitv each year until the past 

 season when they had disappeared, having probably been shot as 

 mentioned. Having found several of their old nests at different 

 times I visited the locality on April 19, 1894, having previously 

 seen the birds among the trees. Most of the oaks averaged 

 twenty-five to thirty feet in height and were easily accessible. 

 After a short search a nest was discovered in the extreme top- 

 most branch of a live oak, twenty-five feet from the ground. The 

 nest was composed of small oak sticks and was lined with dry 

 stubble and a little Spanish moss, and measured about one foot 

 across. It contained three eggs, which were fresh and had evi- 

 dently been deserted, as a cobweb had formed over a portion of 

 the nest. The eggs were slightly faded from exposure to the sun, 

 and the birds did not put iii an appearance. I did not again 

 visit the locality during the season of 1894. 



Early in the season of 1895, when budding trees and bright 

 foliage heralded an early spring, my thoughts went back to the 

 Kites of the previous year, and though March had ushered in a 

 cold, rainy spell, on the 17th I visited the country to ascertain if 

 the Kites had returned to their former haunts. The day was a 

 dark one, threatening rain, and a strange quiet pervaded the grove, 

 in contrast to the usual varied chorus of small birds. Neither 

 of the Kites could be seen, so I searched for the tree in which 

 they had built the previous year, and from which I had removed 

 the nest. My surprise was complete when a new nest was dis- 

 covered built on the exact site of the former one, in the highest 

 available crotch of the tree. From the nest one could see in all 

 directions over the fields, and still the nest itself was securely 



