THE WHITE-TAILED KITE. 175 



Mr. A. L. Parkhurst informs me that he found this species breeding near 

 San Jose 1 , California, from March 15 to April 10 their nests being generally 

 well hidden among the leaves near the tops of the trees, usually at a height 

 of about 30 feet. Their usual resorts during the breeding season are the 

 banks of streams or the fresh water marshes, especially if a few scattered 

 live oaks or willow groves are close by, and their favorite nesting sites are 

 the tops of live oaks, although other trees are also made use of whose foliage 

 securely conceals the nest during incubation. These birds can be found near 

 the tree in which they intend to breed as early as January. Sometimes sev- 

 eral birds are anxious to secure the same site, and in such a case fights are 

 sure to result, not alone for first choice of a nesting site, but also for a mate. 

 As soon as a pair have mated, they proceed to drive away from the neigh- 

 borhood all others of their kind, and even larger and more powerful birds 

 of prey are taught to respect their claims to the locality selected. 



"As soon as the male feels secure in his possession he takes his stand upon 

 the top of a tree near by, whose foliage is not so thick as to obstruct the view, 

 yet where he is practically concealed, and from this station he is ever watchful 

 for the approach of an enemy. I have not been able to get sufficiently close to 

 a nest to enable me to observe the manner of nidification without being de- 

 tected by the male. I am satisfied, however, that it is accomplished by the 

 unaided effort of the female, while the former is doing picket duty. 



"The nest is composed of small dead twigs, placed in the upright forks of 

 a limb, and is neatly lined with dry stubble and grasses. The cavity is usually 

 about 3 inches deep. It is much of the same order of architecture as an 

 ordinary Crow's nest, but is a trifle larger and quite as neat. The date of lay- 

 ing varies somewhat with the season. The first nest I found was on April 6, 

 1883. It contained four eggs that were about half hatched. I took three sets 

 of eggs from this tree in as many different years, but each time a different nest 

 was built. These birds breed in the same locality from year to year, often in 

 the same tree, but according to my observations they always build a new nest 

 each season." 



Other observers describe the nest as a slight structure and shallow, and say 

 it is placed occasionally in sycamore trees or maples, but their favorite tree for 

 a nesting site seems to be the live oak. 



Messrs. Sclater and Hudson give a good account of the habits of this 

 species in "Argentine Ornithology" (Vol. n, pp. 71, 72). Extracts from this 

 are as follows: "This interesting Hawk is found throughout the Argentine 

 Republic, but it is nowhere numerous. It is a handsome bird, with large ruby- 

 red irides, and when seen at a distance its snow-white plumage and buoyant 

 flight gav_e it a striking resemblance to a Gull. Its wing power is indeed mar- 

 velous. It delights to soar, like the Martins, during a high wind, and will spend 

 hours in this sport, rising and falling alternately, and at times, seeming to aban- 

 don itself to the fury of the gale, is blown away like thistle down, until, 

 suddenly recovering itself, it shoots back to its original position. Where there 



