^°Jg^'^] Barlow, IVesiing- Habits of White-tailed Kite. 1 7 



hidden in the leafy top of the oak, and only to be seen on close 

 inspection from the ground beneath. At this date, March 17, the 

 nest contained four eggs, which were warm and very slightly 

 incubated. The parent bird was not seen until I had left the 

 tree, and had doubtless been enjoying her morning exercise. The 

 nest, which is a typical one, measured twelve inches across, with 

 a depression in the center of perhaps three inches, and was com- 

 posed of small dead twigs from the live oak, and' lined with fine 

 straw stubble, from the field near by. The four eggs constituting 

 this set are of an unusual type, three of them being marked chiefly 

 about the ends, while the fourth is streaked lengthwise more 

 heavily than the average egg. 



I did not visit the locality again until April 5, when both birds 

 were observed sitting quietly in the top of one of the tallest trees, 

 this time some distance from their former nest. I, however, 

 repaired to the nest and found it to contain three eggs, it being 

 evident that the set was not complete. On the 9th five eggs had 

 been laid and the female quietly left the nest when I was half-way 

 up the tree. The same nest had been used in which the first set 

 had been laid, and the birds had added no new lining. The 

 parent birds showed little concern, remaining quietly at a distance 

 and giving expression to an occasional ' whistle '. The time which 

 had elapsed between the taking of the first set of four eggs and 

 the completion of the second set of five was twenty-three days. 

 It seems unusual that the second laying should have consisted of 

 five eggs, and the set itself exhibits extreme variation in coloration, 

 the specimen with the buff ground color and dark markings being 

 perhaps the oddest of all. The white ^^% and the bright reddish 

 specimen were laid last. The eggs of this set average somewhat 

 larger than the first laying of four eggs. The three sets of eggs 

 to which we have thus far referred are the production of one pair 

 of birds during the seasons of 1894 and 1895, ^"<^ ^^'^■i I think, if 

 the normal types from each set be compared, show a similarity, in 

 that the markings tend toward the ends of the eggs as a rule. Be- 

 fore disposing of this pair of Kites I will say that I did not visit 

 them again during 1895, but early this year while looking over 

 the ground I discovered another nest in a small oak, which had 

 been used, and which leads me to believe that the birds laid a 



