THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 171 



Quo had been incubated for about a week, the other was fresh. The nest was 

 situated in the extreme top of a slender pine, 86 feet from the ground. Both 

 parents made much ado, flying down at my climber from above at an angle of 

 about 45 degrees. The call note of this species sometimes sounds very much 

 like the 'peet, peet,' of the Spotted Sandpiper. 



"I think both parents assist in incubation, and that but one brood is raised 

 in a year. In Florida, like the Bald Eagles, they nearly always nest in pine 

 trees and in the tallest they can find, but, unlike the latter, which always 

 select trees of the greatest diameter, they choose the very slimmest. 



"They usually breed in wild uninhabited localities, but, except in regard to 

 their nests, they appear to have but little fear of man, and are often to be seen 

 flying around among the houses of the small villages in this vicinity. The 

 places resorted to for breeding are the low-lying pine woods, and the nests 

 are usually built in trees that grow in or near the cypress swamps, so com- 

 mon in these situations. 



"The Swallow-tailed Kite has a peculiar way of leaving its nest, for in- 

 stead of flying directly from one side, as other birds do, it nearly always rises 

 straight up for a short distance first, as if it were pushed up with a spring, and, 

 when about to alight on its nest, it will poise itself a short distance above its 

 eggs and then gradually lower itself down on to them. When they are thus 

 poised above t^eir nests there is scarcely a perceptible movement of their 

 wings, and they often lower themselves so gradually that one can hardly tell 

 when they have reached their eggs." 



According to Mr. J. W. Preston, these birds nest in Becker County, Minne- 

 sota, from about May 15 through June, the nests being usually placed in bass- 

 wood trees and in the extreme tops, from 50 to 80 feet high. An unusual 

 nesting site found by him was in a slender canoe birch about 40 feet from the 

 ground. Their call notes are a shrill keen "e-e-e," or "we-we-we," uttered in 

 a high key, which is very piercing and may be heard at a great distance. In 

 Minnesota their nests are usually found in dense woods not far from lakes. 

 They are highly gregarious; disturb a nest and every Kite in the neighborhood 

 is soon on hand. lie has found them not apt to attack a person, but they do 

 attack other birds coming in the vicinity of their homes. He says: "Of all 

 aerial performances I have ever witnessed, the mating of the Swallow-tailed 

 Kite excels. Ever charming and elegant, they outdo themselves at this season. 

 In the spring of 188G they chose as their mating ground an open space over 

 the mouth of an ice-cold brook that mr.de its way out from a dark tangled 

 larch swamp. From my boat on the lake I had an excellent view of them. All 

 the afternoon seven of these matchless objects sported, chasing each other here 

 and there, far and near, sailing along in easy curves, floating, falling, and rising, 

 then darting with meteor-like swiftness, commingling and separating with an 

 abandon and airy ease that is difficult to imagine. 



"Next day three pairs were selecting nesting sites. They are extremely 

 particular iu regard to the matter of a nest, and may not be disturbed in the 



