170 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 11-No. 11 

strong twine sew it; the stitches on the bottom | Nesting of the Mississippi Kite in 
will not show—it will appear on under side. 
Ny Next insert eyes and pro- 
NY ceed to stuff as in other cases. 
When done it will appear : 
Ifthere is 
no skull 
makea 
MW? form of 
excelsior, using fine wire to wind it firmly, and 
give it a coat of clay, just enough to smooth it, 
and proceed as in the previous case. 

Papier maché forms are made in Europe—arti- 
ficial teeth and tongue complete. They are very 
natural and all that is required is to draw the skin 
over them. I understand that they have been 
made in this country but I do not know where 
they can be obtained. The above described 
processes are known as hard filling. 
Soft filling may be used as follows: Make ¢ 
form of wood the size and shape of the head 
when skinned. Stretch the damp skin over it, 
tacking it down; let it remain till it dries on the 
shape. Stuff firmly with cotton. The eyes can 
be fastened by sewing a piece of cloth back of 
them on inside. This filling gives the head a soft 
elastic feeling when stepped upon, but I do not 
think it is as durable as the other way. 
It is usual to double the ears down to prevent 
them from being broken, but I think it injures 
the effect. The skin should be lined with a 
heavy felt. Lay the skin upon it and with chalk 
mark it out just the size. Next cut two strips, 
usually two colors—a bright one 214 inches wide 
and a dark one say 314 inches wide—have them 
pinked, sew them to the skin all around the edge 
so that they will project. It should be gathered, 
using care to have it even, and finally sew the 
skin thus trimmed to the lining. The tail hangs 
free. 
A very nice effect is obtained by plaiting the 
trimming, but it must be nicely done. Blue and 
drab for fox, maroon for wolf and deer are favor- 
ite colors. In large skins some prefer not to have 
them trimmed, in which case the lining does not 
show. 

Texas. 
BY J. A. SINGLEY, GIDDINGS, LEE COUNTY, TEXAS. 

The article on the “ Nesting of the Mississippi 
Kite,” (Jetinia subewrulea), published in THE Or- 
NITHOLOGIST AND OOLOGIST for September, (Vol. 
XI, p, 142,) prompts me to relate my experiences 
regarding the nidification of this species. 
On May 22d, 1886, one of my collectors brought 
me a set of two Hawk’s eggs, which differed so 
much from any that I had heretofore seen that I 
at once questioned him closely concerning them, 
and elicited the following details from him: 
He had found the nest on the 18th of May—the 
birds being there but the nest empty. He again 
visited the nest on the 20th and found one egg. 
On the 21st he again went there, and this time 
there were two eggs. On the 22d of May he 
found the Kite sitting on the two eggs, and, con- 
cluding that the set was complete, he took them 
and brought them to me the same day. 
On questioning him as to the color, etc., of the 
bird he told me it was “blue all over but the 
head, which is white, and some white on the 
wings.” Consulting my Acy I was almost posi- 
tive that I had a set of eggs of the Mississippi 
Kite, only the eggs did not answer the descrip- 
tion. I questioned him still further but could 
gain no new facts, except that the hawk was 
known by tie local name of “ Blue Darter”—so 
called probably from its habit of swooping from 
mid-air upon its prey—a habit shared by the 
Swallow-tailed Kite, (Hlanoides forficatus,) also. 
I sent the young man away with the promise of 
a handsome reward if he would bring me the 
parents of the eggs. I then waited patiently 
until June 5th, when, not hearing from him, I 
went to his home, and had him show me the nest 
where he found the eggs. A five minutes’ walk 
took us to a tank in his father’s pasture, and 
there, in a small post oak, I saw the nest. It was 
in the small forks of the tree, near the top, and 
about thirty-five feet from the ground. I easily 
ascended the tree and investigated the composi- 
tion of the nest. It was made of sticks, large and 
small, and weed stems; the latter, with the smaller 
sticks, being in the inner part of the structure. 
For lining the birds had taken a lot of green wil- 
low twigs in leaf, and some of these were from 
ten to twelve inches in length. They were ar- 
Willow 
trees grew around the tank, and from these the 
twigs had been obtained. 
I had no measure with me, but I estimated the 
outer diameter of the nest to be thirteen inches, 
ranged nicely in the bottom of the nest. 
