8 HAWKS 



WHITE-TAILED KITE 



Elanus leucurus 



A gray bird with white underparts, rather short white tail 

 and black shoulders. L. 15 J. 



Range. Chiefly southwestern United States and southward 

 east to the lower Mississippi Valley. 



This is a rare bird east of the Mississippi. It frequents 

 open marshy places and feeds upon small snakes, lizards, 

 grasshoppers, etc., which it captures on the ground. The 

 nest is built in trees, and the 3-5 eggs, heavily marked 

 with brown, are laid in May. 



MISSISSIPPI KITE 



Ictinia mississippiensis 



A slaty-blue bird with black tail and wings and red eyes. L. 14. 



Range. Southern United States, north to South Carolina, 

 and southern Indiana; winters chiefly south of the United States 

 and returns in April. 



A low-flying hunter of insects, snakes and frogs. It 

 migrates in loose flocks sometimes near the earth, at others 

 far above it. The nest is placed in tall trees. The eggs 

 are laid in May; they number 1-3, and axe dull white, 

 occasionally with a bluish tinge. 



EVERGLADE KITE 



Rostrhamus sociabilis 



A dark slate-colored bird with a white rump and a rather slender 

 hooked bill. The young are quite different; black above, tipped 

 with reddish brown, below mottled and barred with black, red- 

 ish brown and buff, but with the white rump-patch of the 

 adult. L. 18. 



Range. Tropical America north to southern Florida. 



The Everglade Kite is found in marshes and about 

 lakes and ponds hunting for its favorite food of large snails, 

 which it extracts from their shells by means of its hooked 



