454 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. IX. 



153. Ictinia mississippiensis (WiLS.). 

 MISSISSIPPI KITE. 



Distr.: Southern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains 

 from South Carolina and Illinois to Central America. 



Adult: General plumage, plumbeous gray, palest on the head 

 and darkest on the wings and tail; inner webs of primaries marked 

 with rufous; no white on tail. 



Mississippi Kite. 



Immature birds have the head, neck, and under parts, whitish or 

 buffy white, striped and spotted with dusky brown; upper plumage, 

 dusky brown, the feathers marked with buffy white or whitish; tail, 

 dusky, narrowly barred with dark gray (outer webs) and grayish 

 white (inner webs) ; under wing coverts marked with reddish brown. 



Length, 13.50 to 15; wing, 10.50 to 12; tail, 6.50. 



The 'Mississippi Kite is not uncommon in southern Illinois in sum- 

 mer. 



Nelson gives it as an "abundant summer resident in the southern 

 portion of the state, probably occurs in northern Illinois." Ridgway 

 states (Orn. of Illinois, 1889, p. 449): "In August, 1871, it was very 

 plentiful on Fox Prairie." In Wisconsin Kumlien and Hollister do 

 not include it as having been taken, although a number of the older 



