ORDERS OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 



observation is that the Marsh-Hawk nests on the 

 ground, preferably in tall grass, in a nest that is 

 anything but a workmanlike affair. When I 

 found my first nest of this bird, — a patch of 

 trampled grass in the head of a slough, with four 

 big, downy nestlings wallowing around upon it, — 

 the Marsh-Hawk fell several points in my esti- 

 mation. 



This species ranges all the way from Alaska, 

 Hudson's Bay and Ontario to Panama and Cuba. 

 Regarding its value, Dr. Fisher has this to say: 



"The Marsh-Hawk is unquestionably one of 

 the most beneficial as it is one of our most abun- 

 dant hawks, and its presence and increase should 

 be encouraged in every way possible, not only 



SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 



by protecting it by law, but by disseminating a 

 knowledge of the benefits it confers. It is prob- 

 ably the most active and determined foe of 

 meadow-mice and ground-squirrels, destroying 

 greater numbers of these pests than any other 

 species, and this fact alone should entitle it to 

 protection, even if it destroyed no other injuri- 

 ous animals." 



One hundred and twenty-four specimens of 

 this species were examined, and the stomachs 

 revealed the following contents. 57, mice; 27, 

 other mammals; 34, birds; 14, insects; 7, poul- 



try or game-birds; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; 1, un- 

 known and 8 were empty. 



The Swallow-Tailed Kite, 1 or, as the boys of 

 the prairies call it, the Forked-Tailed "Hawk," 



is in flight the most graceful bird I ever saw on 

 the wing. No matter whether the sky be blue 

 or gray, the snow-white head, neck and body, 

 and glossy black tail and wings are sharply 

 outlined in the heavens, drawing attention as a 

 magnet draws nails. The bird is instantly iden- 

 tified by its long and deeply V-shaped tail, and 

 its striking colors, which divide evenly between 

 themselves the under surface of the wing. 



In the golden days of boyhood, I saw scores 

 of these birds in Iowa, but never saw one alight 

 and perch, even for a moment. Several times we 

 saw them with snakes in their talons, devour- 

 ing them as they sailed through the air, and we 

 also saw two or three seizures of prey. But it 

 is the flight of this bird that makes the most 

 lasting impression. In hunting and prospect- 

 ing it never flies in a straight line, but always in 

 graceful curves, and reverse curves, circles, 

 parabolas, and spirals, like an expert skater 

 "showing off." Its flight is indeed the poetry 

 of motion in mid-air. 



Unfortunately, this beautiful bird is not 

 of wide distribution in the North, for its real 

 home is in the tropics. In the United States 

 it migrates northward in April into Iowa, Min- 

 nesota, Illinois, southern Michigan, and at rare 

 intervals farther east and west to the Carolinas 

 and the plains. So far as known, its food con- 

 sists exclusively of small reptiles and large in- 

 sects. 



This bird fitly represents the whole group 

 of Kites, of which the White-Tailed Kite is the 

 Pacific coast species. The Mississippi Kite in- 

 habits the Gulf states, and the Everglade Kite 

 reaches our country only in Florida. 



THE VULTURE FAMILY. 



Cathartidae. 



This Family ranks at the bottom of the list 

 of the birds of prey, because its members are 

 less intelligent, less active and resourceful in 

 obtaining their food, and less able to take care of 

 themselves than the hawks and owls. Although 



1 El-a-noi'des for-fi-ca'tus. Average length, about 

 23 inches. 



