SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 45 



shire, and kept in confinement by its captor for about a month, 

 after which it escaped, first alighting on a tree at a little distance, 

 and then ascending in a spiral flight to a great height before finally 

 choosing its course. It then went off steadily in a southerly direc- 

 tion, glad, no doubt, to get to some other country where its skin 

 was not of so much consequence. There appears to be no evidence 

 to show that the Swallow-Tailed Kite has ever since been seen 

 in any part of Britain. 



The following graphic description of the habits of this bird forms 

 the opening paragraph of Audubon's account of the species: " The 

 flight of this elegant hawk is singularly beautiful and protracted. 

 It moves through the air with such ease and grace that it is im- 

 possible for any individual, who takes the least pleasure in observing 

 the manner of birds, not to be delighted by the sight of it whilst 

 on wing.* Gliding along in easy flappings, it rises in wide circles 

 to an immense height, inclining in various ways its deeply forked 

 tail to assist the direction of its course, dives with the rapidity of 

 lightning, and, suddenly checking itself, reascends, soars away, 

 and is soon out of sight. At other times a flock of these birds, 

 amounting to fifteen or twenty individuals, is seen hovering around 

 the trees. They dive in rapid succession amongst the branches, 

 glancing along the trunks, and seizing in their course the insects 

 and small lizards of which they are in quest. Their motions are 

 astonishingly rapid, and the deep curves which they describe, their 

 sudden doublings and crossings, and the extreme ease with which 

 they seem to cleave the air, excite the admiration of him who views 

 them while thus employed in searching for food." 



Wilson, in writing of the species, says: "I met with these birds 

 in the early part of May at a place called Duck Creek in Tennessee, 

 and found them sailing about in great numbers near Bayo Manchac 

 on the Mississippi, twenty or thirty being within view at the same 

 time. At that season a species of cicada, or locust, swarmed among 

 the woods, making a deafening noise, and I could perceive these 

 hawks frequently snatching them from the trees." Being migratory 

 in its habits, it is seen travelling in great numbers from west to east 

 early in April, and returning to its winter quarters in October. 

 Both Wilson and Audubon speak of these spring and autumn 

 flights as being highly interesting. 



* The disappointed captor of the Yorkshire bird may reasonably be exempted 

 from the exaction of this tribute. 



