248 THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 
composed: of few tints, and is remarkable more on account of the delicate 
gradations and contrasts of hue than for any peculiar brilliancy of the 
feathers. The general aspect of the Kite is reddish brown, which on a close 
inspection is resolved into the following tints. The back and upper portions 
are dark brown, relieved by a reddish tinge upon the edges of the feathers ; 
the primaries are black, and the upper tail-coverts chestnut. There is a 
little white upon the edges of the tertiaries, and the head and back of the 
neck are covered with greyish white feathers, the centre of each feather 
being streaked with brown. The forked tail is reddish brown, barred on 
the under surface with dark brown stripes, the centre feathers being the 
darkest. The chin and throat are coloured like the head, and the abdomen 
and under portions are reddish brown. The under tail-coverts are white, 
with a slight reddish tinge, and the under surface of the rectrices are also 
white, but washed with grey. 
THE beautiful bird which is so well known under the appropriate title of 
the SWALLOW-TAILED KITE is an inhabitant of various parts of America, 
though it has occasionally been noticed on the British shores. 
This bird bears so strong an external reseinblance to the swallow, that it 
might easily be taken for a common swallow or swift, as it flies circling in 
the air in search of the insect prey on which it usually feeds. Even the 
flight is very much of the same character in both birds, and the mode of 
feeding very similar. The usual food of the Swallow-tailed Kite consists of 
the larger insects, which it either catches on the wing or snatches from the 
leaves as it shoots past the bushes. Reptiles, such as small snakes, lizards, 
and frugs, also form part of the food of this elegant bird. While it is 
engaged in the pursuit of such prey, or in catching the large insects upon 
the branches, it may be approached and shot without much difficulty, as it 
is so intent upon its prey that it fails to notice its human foe. 
The nest of the Swallow-tailed Kite is generally found on the very 
summit of some lofty rock or pine, and is almost invariably in the near vicinity 
of water. It is compyssed of small sticks externally, and is lined with 
grasses, moss, and feathers. The eggs are rather more numerous than is 
generally the case with the Hawks, being from four to six in number. Their 
colour is white with a greenish tinge, and they are marked with some dark 
brown blotches which are gathered towards the larger end. There is only 
one brood in the year, and when the young birds are first hatched, they are 
covered with a uniformly buff-coloured downy coat. The colour of the adult 
bird is variable, consisting mostly of white and black, but, on account of 
the bold manner in which their hues are contrasted, is remarkably pleasing 
in its effect. The back, the upper part of the wings, with the exception 
of the inner webs of the tertiaries, upper tail-coverts and rectrices, are a 
deep purple-black, the head, neck, and all other parts of the plumage being 
ure white. The legs and toes are blue with a green tinge, the cere is blue, 
and the beak blue-black, The claws are orange-brown. The length of this 
bird averages twenty inches. 
THE true FALCONS are known by their strong, thick, and curved beak, the 
upper mandible having a projecting tooth near the curve, which fits into a 
corresponding socket in the under mandible. The talons are strongly 
curved, sharp-pointed, and are either flat or grooved in their under sides. 
The Falcons all obtain their prey by striking it while on the wing ; and 
with such terrible force is the attack made, that a Peregrine Falcon has been 
known to strike the head completely from the shoulders of its quarry, while 
the mere force of its stroke, without the use of its claws, is sufficient to kill 
a pizeon or a partridge, and send it dead to the ground. 
In striking their prey the Falcons make no use of the beak, reserving 
