EAGLES, HAWKS, AND VULTURES 



71 



EVERGLADE KITE 



(Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) 



This resident of fresh-water marshes 

 is suggestive in form, white rump, and 

 method of flight of the much larger, lon- 

 ger-tailed marsh hawk. It enjoys soaring, 

 frequently ascending to considerable alti- 

 tudes, but does not have the graceful, 

 accomplished flight of our other kites. 

 The everglade kite is sociable, and, where 

 plentiful, a hundred may be observed to- 

 gether. In Florida, however, it has been 

 so reduced that flocks are unusual. 



The birds utter a rasping, chattering call 

 of little volume, and are especially noisy 

 during the mating and nesting season. 



For food this kite depends on the large 

 fresh-water snails belonging to the genus 

 formerly called Ampullaria, known now 

 as Pomacea. The kite seizes them in its 

 long claws and bears them away to some 

 low limb or mound, where, with the slen- 

 der, sharply hooked bill, it draws the snail 

 from its shell. 



Occasionally the kite extracts its food 

 as it flies, dropping the shell when empty. 

 I have seen accumulations of dozens of the 

 shells gathered beneath favored perches. 

 So far as known, this kite eats no other 

 food. Such extreme specialization in diet 

 is unusual among birds. The slender form 

 of the bill and the claws, developed for this 

 peculiar habit, is remarkable. 



The everglade kite in Florida nests from 

 January to May, the season varying lo- 

 cally. The nest is made of small twigs 

 placed in a myrtle or other bush, in the 

 top of a clump of saw grass, or, rarely, in 

 a tree, being usually at only a few feet 

 elevation and ordinarily above water. 



The eggs number two to five or rarely 

 six, two or three making the usual set. 

 The ground color is pale greenish white 

 spotted with rusty brown, the spots in 

 most cases being so numerous as almost 

 to conceal the lighter base. The young of 

 the everglade kite are fed on the same 

 large snails relished by the adult, the par- 

 ent usually bringing food in the crop and 

 feeding its family by regurgitation. 



In the United States the everglade kite 

 is found only in Florida. To the south 

 it ranges in Cuba, eastern Mexico, and 

 Central America, and a closely allied race 

 occurs in South America as far as Ar- 

 gentina. 



MARSH HAWK 



(^Circus hudsonius) 



The marsh hawk, an inhabitant of open 

 country, ranging over prairie regions, 

 grasslands, and cultivated fields, is marked 

 by its slender form, long tail, and a promi- 

 nent white spot on the rump. Except dur- 

 ing migration or in mating season, this 

 bird seldom flies far above the ground for 

 any great length of time. 



It is entirely predatory, feeding on mice, 

 ground squirrels, and other small mam- 

 mals, as well as snakes, lizards, frogs, and 

 insects. In addition, it captures a good 

 many ground-inhabiting birds, especially 

 in summer and fall, when young birds are 

 about. At times it kills game birds and in 

 some localities, particularly where pheas- 

 ants are stocked, the marsh hawk has 

 proved a pest. In general, however, it is 

 beneficial, and should not be destroyed 

 except where it is found to be actually 

 injurious to game. 



A I^EATHER EUIfp ADORNS THIS HAWK 



As a peculiar feature, the face in this 

 species is surrounded by short, stiffened 

 feathers forming a ruff like that found in 

 owls, a feature that is present in no other 

 group of hawks. 



The marsh hawk places its nest on the 

 ground, usually in a marsh or on a prairie, 

 ordinarily at the foot of a bush or a clump 

 of grass, and in marshy ground on a 

 tussock. It is composed mainly of dried 

 weed stems and grass, sometimes with a 

 foundation of twigs, lined with fine grasses 

 and feathers. 



From four to six eggs constitute a set. 

 These are pale greenish or bluish white 

 in color, usually without markings, though 

 at times blotched and spotted with brown. 

 The male is attentive to the female during 

 incubation, bringing her food, which she 

 often rises to seize in the air as he drops it. 



As is often the case with ground-nesting 

 birds, the young wander about on foot near 

 the nest before they are able to fly. 



The marsh hawk breeds from north- 

 western Alaska, central Quebec, and New- 

 foundland south to northern Baja Cali- 

 fornia, southern Texas, and southeastern 

 Virginia. In winter it is found from 

 British Columbia and the northern United 

 States south to the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, 

 Puerto Rico, and Colombia. 



