288 NATURAL HISTORY. 



any individual, who takes the least pleasure in observing the manners of birds, not to be delighted 

 by the sight of it whilst on the 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, re-ascends, 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. 



" In the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, where these birds are abundant, they arrive in 

 large companies in. the beginning of April, and are heard uttering a sharp plaintive note. At this- 

 period I generally remarked that they came from the westward, and have counted upwards of a 

 hundred in the space of an hour, passing over me in a direct easterly course. At that season, and in 

 the beginning of September when they all retire from the United States, they are easily approached 

 when they have alighted, being then apparently fatigued, and busily engaged in preparing themselves- 

 for continuing their journey, by dressing and oiling their feathers. At all other times, however, it is. 

 extremely difficult to get near them, as they are generally on wing through the day, and at night 

 rest on the highest pines and cypresses, bordering the river-bluffs, the lakes, or the swamps of that 

 district of country. 



" They always feed on the wing. In calm and warm weather they soar to an immense height, 

 pursuing the large insects called Musquito Hawks, and performing the most singular evolutions that 

 can be conceived, using their tail with an elegance of motion peculiar to themselves. Their principal 

 food, however, is large Grasshoppers, Grass Caterpillars, small Snakes, Lizards, and Frogs. They 

 sweep close over the fields, sometimes seeming to alight for a moment to secure a Snake, and holding 

 it fast by the neck, carry it off, and devour it in the air. When searching for Grasshoppers and 

 Caterpillars, it is not difficult to approach them under cover of a fence or tree. When one is then 

 killed, and falls to the ground, the whole flock comes over the dead bird, as if intent upon carrying- 

 it off. An excellent opportunity is thus afforded of shooting as many as may be wanted ; and 1 

 have killed several of these Hawks in this manner, firing as fast as I could load my gun. 



" The Fork-tailed Hawks are also very fond of frequenting the creeks, which, in that country, 

 are much encumbered with drifted logs and accumulations of sand, in order to pick up some of 

 the numerous Water-snakes which lie basking in the sun. At other times they dash along the trunks 

 of trees, and snap off the pupse of the Lociist, or that insect itself. Although when on the wing they 

 move with a grace and ease which it is impossible to describe, yet on the ground they are scarcely 

 able to walk. 



" I kept for several days one which had been slightly wounded in the wing. It refused to eat, 

 kept the feathers of the head and rump constantly erect, and vomited several times part of the 

 contents of its stomach. It never threw itself on its back, nor attempted to strike with its talons, 

 unless when taken up by the tip of the wing. It died from inanition, as it constantly refused the 

 food placed before it in profusion, and instantly vomited what had been placed down its throat." 



THE COMMON KITE (Milvus ictinm*). 



Times have changed in England since the number of Kites to be seen flying about London Bridge 

 could form a subject of astonishment to a foreign traveller visiting that country ; but less than three 

 hundred years ago this was the case, though now the species has been all but banished from the land. 

 It may still occasionally nest in some parts of Wales and of Scotland ; but in the latter country places 

 where formerly the species bred plentifully now know it no more. The Kite builds its nest of sticks 

 on a large tree, but occasionally also on rocks, and it is generally composed of a mixture of materials, 

 such as bones, &c., and the lining usually contains a good many rags ; so that Shakspere, with the 

 knowledge of natural history which always distinguished him, was quite right when he said 



"When the Kite builds, look to lesser linen." 

 * UTIOS, a Kite. 



