THE SWALLOW- TAILED KITE 



53 



tributed to a diminution in either the variety or quantity of its usual 

 food. 



Of six specimens reported upon by Dr. Fisher in "Hawks and 

 Owls of the United States," all contained insects, two lizards, and 

 one a tree frog. Three of these birds were from Nebraska and one 

 from Minnesota. 



The scarcity of the species in recent years has made impossible 

 the examination of many stomachs of these birds. The variety of 

 insect food devoured by an immature male which was brought to 

 the Coe College Museum, September 20, 1903, as listed below, 

 places this bird beyond all question among the farmer's friends. 



Fig. 17. Map showing the distribution in Iowa of the Swallow-tailed Kite. 



Stomach contents of Swallow-tailed Kite, collected September 

 20, 1903, Cedar Rapids; sex male (immature) : 

 2 Scarabeus Beetles, 52 Hemiptera, 



2 Bumble Bees, 5 Field Crickets, 



2 Honey Bees, 44 Grasshoppers, 



1 Wasp, 4 Ground Beetles, 



1 Burying Beetle, 1 Large Water Beetle, 



1 Mole Cricket, 1 Wheel Bug, 



1 Cotton Bug, Also a mass of insect fragments. 



The last recorded observation of this bird in Iowa was made by 

 Mr. J. H. Scott, of Iowa City, on Wapsipinicon river near Inde- 

 pendence in August, 1912. 



