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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



SWALLOW-TAILED KITE 



{Elano'ides forficatus forficahis 



The swallow-tailed kite, delighting in its 

 aerial powers, spends hours on the wing 

 wheeling and turning without apparent 

 effort. The deeply forked tail, the white 

 plumage, and black wings and tail form un- 

 mistakable marks for field identification. 



This species feeds extensively on snakes 

 and also eats lizards and large insects. All 

 food is seized expertl}' in the feet, and 

 the birds customarily eat while flying, tear- 

 ing their prey apart with their bills. They 

 are believed to be entirely beneficial. 



The nest of the swallow-tailed kite is 

 built in trees, often from 60 to 125 feet 

 from the ground, and is composed of 

 twigs and moss, the nesting material being 

 seized while flying. Two eggs generally 

 constitute a set, although from one to four 

 may be found. These vary in ground color 

 from dull white to a delicate cream, and 

 are spotted and blotched with brown. The 

 call is shrill and high-pitched, being heard 

 mainly during the nesting season. 



Formerly this beautiful hawk was com- 

 mon throughout the eastern United States, 

 but in the last 30 years its numbers have 

 lessened steadily, and now it is found 

 mainly in the southern section. 



The species breeds locally from Minne- 

 sota, Indiana, and North Carolina south 

 into Florida and eastern Mexico, winter- 

 ing south of the United States. An allied 

 form is found in Central and South 

 America. 



MISSISSIPPI KITE 



(Ictiiiia inisisippiensis) 



The Mississippi kite is another species 

 that spends hours in the air in tireless 

 movement. 



The food of this bird consists princi- 

 pally of insects, with occasional reptiles 

 and frogs. I once encountered a band of 

 a dozen coursing over a range of low hills, 

 and at intervals darting clown to seize a 

 cicada. Held in the hawk's foot, the in- 

 sect buzzed protestingly until, without a 

 pause in the bird's flight, it was swallowed. 



The Mississippi kite builds a small nest 

 composed of twigs, in part with leaves still 

 attached, placed in trees from 25 to 60 

 feet from the ground. The birds breed 

 in May and June, later in the season than 

 most species of this family. 



The eggs number two or three and 

 are pale bluish white, without markings, 

 though often stained by the decaying green 

 leaves of the nest lining. Only one brood 

 is reared each season. The immature bird 

 in the first fall is whitish below, streaked 

 with dark brown and huffy. 



This kite nests from northeastern Kan- 

 sas, southern Illinois, and South Carolina 

 south to Texas and Florida. In winter it 

 is found from Florida and Texas to Guate- 

 mala. It has been noted casually from 

 Colorado to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 



WHITE-TAILED KITE 



(Elanns Icucurns majusculiis) 



Like related kites, this species is master 

 of the air and flies with extreme ease and 

 skill. It delights in high winds, breasting 

 them like a gull without the slightest diffi- 

 culty. 



It is found over tree-dotted prairies and 

 savannas, marshes, and semi-open A-alleys. 

 Though fifty years ago it was common, it 

 has decreased steadily until now it is to be 

 classed among our unusual birds. Despite 

 the fact that it has been afforded protec- 

 tion in recent years, the species does not 

 seem able to increase. 



The white-tailed kite, in feeding, fre- 

 quently hovers with rapidly beating wings 

 over one spot for several minutes, watch- 

 ing the vegetation beneath closely, ready 

 to pounce down whenever prey appears. 

 It lives on small snakes, lizards, frogs, 

 and large insects, and seems to be entirely 

 beneficial. 



The note of this kite is said to be some- 

 what like that of the osprey, but terminat- 

 ing in a guttural or grating sound. 



The nest, built of twigs and lined with 

 soft materials, is placed from 25 to 50 feet 

 from the ground. 



The eggs, varying from three to five, 

 are creamy white, heavily marked with 

 blotches of brown. The young have the 

 plumage tinged with brown and are indis- 

 tinctly streaked above. 



The white-tailed kite is found in Cali- 

 fornia from the upper Sacramento Valley 

 and Humboldt County, south to northern 

 Baja California, and from Texas, Okla- 

 homa, and Florida to Guatemala. 



An allied race ranges in South America, 

 and similar species are found in the other 

 inhabited continents. 



