166 THE BIRDS ABOUT 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 



