EVERGLADE KITE. 289 



to discern his face, we saw that he h:id something to tell. He pushed up and we exchanged 

 the usual salutations. After this, I showed him our precious nest and egg and explained 

 where we had found them; then asked if he could procure any like them. lie listened 

 gravely until I had finished and then said simply, "Me got urn." "What!" we both ex- 

 claimed. "So-for-fmi-i-kar sos-ta-kar," he quietly answered. "Where?" we asked. Bil- 

 ly saiil nothing hut led the way to the how of his canoe and pointed to an old tin dipper. 

 We looked into it and saw two Everglade Kites' eggs lying on the bottom. It may be as- 

 sumed that I was not long in transferring them to a much safer place, while my companion 

 gave vent to his delight in some whoops and a dance which caused the Indian to gaze at 

 him in speechless admiration. Billy said that he found the eggs in a nest built in a. bush. 

 The next day, Tiger also brought me two eggs from a nest which was built in a similar 

 situation. 



I think two eggs are the usual number laid by this bird, for in three instances, no 

 more were found and, in the last eggs, the embryos were considerably advanced; I also 

 questioned the Indians concerning it and they said that two were all that the bird ever 

 laid. The Everglade Kites appear to be very irregular in the time of depositing their eggs, 

 as may be seen by the preceding account. This species is, unlike most other Kites and 

 Hawks, very sociable in its habits and I have frequently seen six or eight specimens, at 

 one time, (lying over the marshes in company or sitting together on the bushes. In flight, 

 they resemble the common Marsh Hawk and, as they arc unsuspicious, they may be ap- 

 proached quite readily. 



1 have remarked that the first Ever-lade Kite I saw, was carrying a round object in 

 its talons, and afterwards, I frequently saw others doing the same thing. What these ob- 

 jects were was explained upon dissecting the specimens taken, for all their stomachs con- 

 tained the animal of a species of fresh-water shell. This shell (Pomus dcpressa of Say) 

 which was, only a few years ago, considered quite rare, appears to be restricted to the 

 fresh waters of Florida, where it abounds. It is round in form, about two inches in diam- 

 eter, and dark, glossy green in color. I observed empty shells floating on the waters of 

 the Everglades, long before I had the slightest idea that they were cleaned by the Kites, 

 but after I dissected the birds, T searched around the bushes where they roosted and found 

 the shells scattered about quite abundantly. The Indians call it Shal-ly-bung-kar. Short- 

 ly after our first visit to the Everglades, bunches of eggs, about the size of those of the 

 Humming Bird, bean to appear on the stalks of the saw-grass. They increased in num- 

 ber rapidly until there were millions of them. I could not imagine what they were until 

 Tiger informed me that they were Shal-ly-bung-kar sos-ta-kar (Pomus dcpressa eggs.) 



Although the Kites subsisted entirely upon the animals contained in these shells and 

 appeared to find them readily, I never saw a single living specimen. I have, however, 

 found them on the Indian Hunting Grounds, when freshly killed by a fire which spread 

 over a drier portion of the (Hades. The talons of the Everglade Kite are curved just 

 enough to grasp the shell readily and its long, abruptly curved upper mandible is peculiarly 

 fitted lor removing the animal and it is not uncommon to find specimens of the shell with 

 a hole punched in the side by this hook. I have never met with this bird, except on the 



37 



