112 MISSISSIPPI KITE. 



ignorant of the danger to which it had been exposed, while it seemed to 

 look down upon me quite unconcerned. When wounded, it comes to the 

 ground with great force, and seldom attempts to escape, choosing rather 

 to defend itself, which it does to the last, by throwing itself on its back, 

 erecting the feathers of its head, screaming loudly in the manner of the 

 Pigeon Hawk, disgorging the contents of its stomach, stretching out its 

 talons, and biting or clenching with great vigour. It is extremely mus- 

 cular, the flesh tough and rigid. 



These birds at times search for food so far from the spot where their 

 nest has been placed, that I have on several occasions been obliged to 

 follow their course over the woods, as if in search of a wild bee's hive, be- 

 fore I could discover it. There is scarcely any perceptible difiference be- 

 tween the sexes as to size, and in colour they are precisely similar, only 

 the female has less of the ferruginous colour on her primaries than the 

 male. The stomach is thin, rugous, and of a deep orange colour. 



Falco tlumbeus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 2^2.— Lath. Index Ornitli. vol. i. p. 49. 



Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 90 — Nuttall, Manual, 



vol. i. p. 92. 

 Mississippi Kite, Falco Mississippiensis, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 80. 



fig. 1. Male. 



Adult Male. Plate CXVII. Fig. 1. 



Bill short, as broad as deep at the base, the sides convex, the dorsal 

 outline convex from the base ; upper mandible cerate, the edges sharp, 

 with an obtuse lobe towards the curvate, the tip trigonal, deflected, very 

 acute ; lower mandible inflected at the edges, rounded at the end. Nos- 

 trils round, lateral, basal, with a central papilla. Head rather large, the 

 general form robust. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus stout, 

 covered anteriorly with scutella, rounded behind ; toes scutellate above, 

 scaly on the sides, scabrous and tuberculate beneath ; middle and outer 

 toe connected at the base by a small membrane ; claws roundish, curved, 

 very acute. 



Plumage compact, imbricated ; feathers of the head narrow, pointed, 

 and rather loose ; tibial feathers elongated. Wings long and pointed, the 

 third quill longest. Tail long, straight, retuse. 



Bill black, as are the cere, lore, and a narrow band round the eye. 

 Iris blood-red. Feet purplish, the scutella deep red ; claws black. The 



