40 BIRDS OF PREY. 



sissippi territory, twenty or thirty being sometimes visible at 

 the same time ; often collecting locusts and other large insects, 

 which they are said to feed on from their claws while flying, 

 at times also seizing upon the nests of locusts and wasps, and, 

 like the Honey Buzzard, devouring both the insects and their 

 larvae. Snakes and lizards are their common food in all parts 

 of America. In the month of October they begin to retire to 

 the South, at which season Mr. Bartram observed them in 

 . great numbers assembled in Florida, soaring steadily at great 

 elevations for several days in succession, and slowly passing 

 towards their winter quarters along the Gulf of Mexico. From 

 the other States they migrate early in September. 



This species is most abundant in the western division of the Gulf 

 States, but is irregularly distributed over the Southern, Western, 

 and Middle States. It has occasionally visited New England, and 

 examples have been seen in Manitoba and near -London and 

 Ottawa in Ontario. 



EVERGLADE KITE. 



BLACK KITE. HOOK-BILL KITE. SNAIL HAWK, 

 ROSTRHANIUS SOCIABILIS. 



Char. Prevailing color dull bluish ash, darker on tail, wings, and an- 

 terior portion o£ head ; rump white, with terminal bar of light brown ; 

 bill black ; feet orange. Length i6 to i8 inches. 



Nest. A platform with a slight depression, composed of sticks or dried 

 grass, built in a low bush or amid tall grass. 



Eggs. 2-3; brownish white blotched with various shades of brown ; 

 1.70 X 1.45- 



This is a tropical species that occurs in Florida. Mr. W. E. D. 

 Scott reports finding it abundant at Panasofkee Lake, and says : 

 " Their food at this point apparently consists of a kind of large 

 fresh-water snail which is very abundant. . . . They fish over the 

 shallow water, reminding one of gulls in their motions ; and having 

 secured a snail by diving, they immediately carry it to the nearest 

 available perch, when the animal is dexterously taken from the 

 shell, without injury to the latter." 



