Mr. H. E. Dresser on the Birds of Southern Texas. 327 



Most of the negroes know the nest of this bird. One^ a very 

 intelligent man, near Uichmond, Brazos county, told me that 

 he had seen two nests on one tree, a large sycamore, then add- 

 ing, gratuitously, that the eggs were worth looking after, as he 

 had eaten them on several occasions and found them very good. 



This bird presents a singularly pleasing appearance on the 

 wing, gliding in large circles without apparent effort ; still the 

 jSight is very rapid. The tail is generally very widely spread ; 

 and, when sailing in circles, the wings are kept almost motion- 

 less. I watched one very closely, as it was hunting after grass- 

 hoppers on a piece of prairie near Brenham. It went over the 

 ground as carefully as a well-trained pointer, every now and 

 then stooping to pick up a grasshopper ; and, to me, the feet and 

 bill appeared to touch the insect simultaneously*. They seem 

 very fond of wasp-grubs, and will carry a nest up to some high 

 perch and sit there, holding it in one claw, and picking out the 

 grubs. I once saw one drop a nest, and catch it before it 

 reached the ground. I examined the stomachs of all I shot 

 (some ten or twelve), and found them to contain sometimes 

 beetles, sometimes grasshoppers. On my labels I find noted 

 as follows : — Iris rich dark reddish brown ; bill dark horn-blue; 

 legs light milk-blue, with the divisions between the scutella 

 darkly marked. The sexes are scarcely distinguishable, except- 

 ing by dissection ; as a rule, however, the female is the larger 

 and more robust bird. 



IcTiNiA MississipPiENsis (Wilsou). Mississippi-Kitc. 



This beautiful little Hawk is by no means an uncommon bird 

 in Texas, being generally found in the same localities as Nau- 

 clerus furcatus. Near San Antonio it is not very common, but 

 is occasionally found there, and breeds there, as I procured both 

 the old and young birds during the summer. In November 

 1863 I noticed a pair flying about near Howard's Rancho, on the 

 Medina, but did not succeed in shooting them. 



In travelling eastward in the month of May, I first noticed 

 this bird near the Rio Colorado, and was told, by the negroes on 

 one of the plantations, that they were then nesting. On the 



* Cf. Ibis, 1860, p. 242.— Ed. 



