184 BIRDS 



THE EVERGLADE KITE * 



The Everglade Kite, or Snail Hawk, as it is sometimes 

 called, has a very small range within the borders of the 

 United States, where it is limited to the swamps and 

 marshes of southern Florida. It also frequents eastern 

 Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and the eastern portion of 

 South America as far southward as the Argentine Republic. 

 Its habits are very interesting. Peaceable and sociable 

 at all times, other birds do not fear them. 



An authority, writing of these birds in Florida, says: 

 " Their favorite nesting sites are swamps overgrown with 

 low willow bushes, the nests usually being placed about four 

 feet from the ground. They frequent the borders of open 

 ponds and feed their young entirely on snails. According 

 to my observations, the female does not assist in the build- 

 ing of the nest. I have watched these birds for hours. She 

 sits in the immediate vicinity of the nest and watches while 

 the male builds it. The male will bring a few twigs and 

 alternate this work at the same time by supplying his mate 

 with snails until the structure is completed. They feed and 

 care for their young longer than any other birds I know of, 

 until you can scarcely distinguish them from the adults." 



The nest is a flat structure, the cavity being rarely more 

 than two or three inches in depth, and the whole structure is 

 about twelve or sixteen inches in diameter and about one- 

 half as high. It is usually placed in low shrubs or fastened 

 to the rank growth of saw grass, sufficiently low to be 

 secure from observation. The materials used in its con- 



