16 Bartow, Nesting Habits of White-tailed Kite. fad 
where they will remain for years, zealously guarding their domain 
against intruders, and nesting from year to year within a small 
radius, sometimes in the same tree. If their first laying of eggs 
be taken they will, as a rule, construct a new nest and lay a 
second time, and only in one instance did I find the same nest 
used twice in the same season. 
My experience with the White-tailed Kite dates back to 1887, 
when a pair of birds were found in a secluded live oak pasture. 
They were commonly known as ‘White Hawks’ and it was not 
until several years later that I succeeded in finding my first nest. 
These birds frequented the same locality each year until the past 
season when they had disappeared, having probably been shot as 
mentioned. Having found several of their old nests at different 
times I visited the locality on April 19, 1894, having previously 
seen the birds among the trees. Most of the oaks averaged 
twenty-five to thirty feet in height and were easily accessible. 
After a short search a nest was discovered in the extreme top- 
most branch of a live oak, twenty-five feet from the ground. The 
nest was composed of small oak sticks and was lined with dry 
stubble and a little Spanish moss, and measured about one foot 
across. It contained three eggs, which were fresh and had evi- 
dently been deserted, as a cobweb had formed over a portion of 
the nest. The eggs were slightly faded from exposure to the sun, 
and the birds did not put in an appearance. I did not again 
visit the locality during the season of 1894. 
Early in the season of 1895, when budding trees and bright 
foliage heralded an early spring, my thoughts went back to the 
Kites of the previous year, and though March had ushered in a 
cold, rainy spell, on the 17th I visited the country to ascertain if 
the Kites had returned to their former haunts. The day was a 
dark one, threatening rain, and a strange quiet pervaded the grove, 
in contrast to the usual varied chorus of small birds. Neither 
of the Kites could be seen, so I searched for the tree in which 
they had built the previous year, and from which I had removed 
the nest. My surprise was complete when a new nest was dis- 
covered built on the exact site of the former one, in the highest 
available crotch of the tree. From the nest one could see in all 
directions over the fields, and still the nest itself was securely 
