172 LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERIOAN BIRDS. 



least, or they choose another home. Nesting materials (twigs and moss) are 

 carried by the female in her talons, the male following close, and going on the 

 nest to arrange them. Days, and sometimes even weeks, are required to suit- 

 ably complete the structure. During this time they work in the morning and 

 fly over the lakes and woods in the afternoon. The nest is usually built on 

 the foundation of an old one of a previous year. The female does not alight 

 to secure nesting materials, but snatches them while in full flight. Once, 

 while standing in a larch swamp, a Kite dashed by me and took up a small 

 twig, heavily draped with usnea, and proudlj" soared out over the woods with 

 it. Near their breeding- ground they seem to be constantly on the wing-. I 

 have known as many as six pairs to nest within a small area. Once incubation 

 has commenced the female sits nearly constantly and seldom leaves the nest, 

 and the male faithfully feeds and protects her. Some days before laying the 

 eggs the female rests, being very quiet and droopy, and I noted this in many 

 birds. I have taken but two nests of this species, one containing two eggs, 

 the other but a single one." 



Mr. Geoi'ge Gr. Cantwell writes me as follows: "The Swallow-tailed Kite 

 is not uncommon in the vicinity of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and especially 

 around Lake Minnetonka. I think about a dozen pairs, and possibly more, 

 breed every year about this lake. They are quite fearless and hunt for their 

 prey right on the lawns in front of the summer hotels and the numerous 

 cottages on the shores of the lake. 



"I took but a single nest of this species there about May 15, 1887. It was 

 placed in the top branches of a tall maple, about 60 feet from the ground, 

 and which contained four eggs on the point of hatching. A fai-mer who 

 showed me this nest, told me that about a week before he destroyed another 

 close to his house containing- the same number of eggs and killed the parents 

 fearing that they might some day carry off some of his poultry, as a good 

 many other Hawks had already done so." 



Mr. George E. Beyer also found a set of four eggs on Milton Island, Lake 

 Pontchartrain, Louisiana. This nest was placed in the top and near the trunk 

 of a cypress tree, 60 feet from the ground. It was taken June 16, 1889; the 

 eggs contained embryos about a week old. The nest was composed of dry 

 twigs carelessly and loosely laid together, hned with moss and a few pieces 

 of snakeskin, evidently Bascanium constrictor. 



The Swallow-tailed Kite is, on the whole, a perfectly harmless and Ijenefi- 

 cial bird, feeding to great extent on reptiles of various kinds, beetles, grasshop- 

 pers, crickets, cotton worms, small frogs, and tree toads. It is doubtful if it 

 ever kills a bird. 



In Texas, the Indian Territory, and Kansas, this species builds frequently 

 in the tops of the tallest cottonwood trees, occasionally in pin oaks or pecans, 

 where these are found, and always as near to the tops of the trees as the nest 

 can safely be placed. 



Nidification varies according to locality, beginning about the first week in 



