THE MISSISSIPPI KITE. 179 



that this Kite does not always breed so late in that region, as he shot a fully 

 fledged young bird on May 31. 



Mr. J. A. Singely has taken several sets of the eggs of this species in 

 Texas. A nest taken in Lee County is thus described: "The foundation 

 and sides of the nest are built entirely of small sticks, the interior portion of 

 small green oak twigs in leaf and leaves of the mesquite tree; the lining is 

 of green moss, on top of which are placed green leaves of the pecan tree. 

 The outer diameter from the ends of the longest twigs is 17 inches, the most 

 compact portion 11 inches; interior diameter 5 inches, outer depth 7 inches, 

 inside depth 1^ inches."^ 



Occasionally a nest is lined with willow twigs in leaf. Mr. H. Nehrliug 

 has also found this species breeding in Texas, near Houston, but it is not 

 common there. 



The food of this Ki!e seems to consist principally of grasshoppers, locusts, 

 and other insects, probably varied with a diet of small rodents, lizards, and 

 snakes. It is unquestionably a perfectly harmless species, if not actually a 

 beneficial one, from an economic standpoint. 



"The eggs of this species are usually two or three in number and are 

 ordinarily deposited from the middle of May to the latter part of June. But 

 one brood is raised in a season. The same nest is often used from year to 

 year, when not disturbed, the necessary repairs required being made each 

 season. The first eggs of this species deposited in the U. S. National Museum 

 collection, were obtained through Mr. C. S. McCarthy, who found several of 

 their nests on the Canadian River in the Indian Territory, between June 5 

 and 21, 1862. 



They are rounded ovate in shape, pale bluish white in color, and un- 

 spotted; the type specimen, however, shows a few minnte deeper blue shell 

 markings, not usually found in the eggs of this species. They are frequently 

 badly stained by contact with the decaying green leaves on which they are 

 usually placed. 



The average measurement of twenty-nine eggs of the Mississippi Kite 

 is 41 by 34 millimetres. The largest egg in the U. S. National Museum 

 collection, measures 44.5 by 36.5, the smallest 39 by 32 millimetres. 



The type specimen, one' of a set of two (No. 23160, PI. 5, Fig. 5), was 

 taken by Col. N. S. Gross, in Barber County, Kansas, May 31, 1887. 



'Nests and Eggs of North American Birds, Davie, 1889, p. 166. 



