28o Bird Studies. 



of the smaller 'wing feathers are grayish, like the head and neck. The eyes 

 are reddish orange. Immature birds have the head white, finely streaked 

 with blackish. The back is dusky brown, each feather being tipped more or 

 less with rusty brown or whitish. The lower parts are white or buffy white, 

 often streaked with reddish brown. The larger feathers of the wings are 

 dusky and unmarked. The tail is dusky, crossed by a varying number of 

 grayish white bands, generally three in number. 



These birds prey largely on insects and small reptiles, and much of their 

 hunting is done on the wing. They are gregarious during their migrations 

 or after the breeding season, when they are frequently observed in small 

 parties. They breed in tall trees, building nests of sticks and twigs, lined 

 with Spanish moss or dry leaves. Here two or three pale bluish white eggs 

 are laid. They are usually unmarked, but often stained by the decaying 

 moss and leaves lining the nest. They are about one inch and three fifths 

 long, and one inch and three tenths in their smaller diameter. 



The Mississippi Kite ranges east of the Rocky Mountains, as far north 

 as South Carolina, on the coast, and to Kansas and Southern Illinois in the 

 interior. It is a more abundant bird west than east of the Mississippi River* 

 and breeds from Texas to Southern Illinois more commonly. It has been 

 recorded casually as far north as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Iowa. A few 

 winter in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, but the great majority pass 

 south to Central America. 



This is not a common bird east of the Mississippi River, and though 



recorded from various localities from South Carolina and Florida to Southern 



Illinois and Texas, it is probably more common in Califor- 



^a^i*sl™fvS?' nia than elsewhere in North America. Its habits are similar 



to those of the Mississippi Kite, and in its general economy 



it is not unlike that bird. 



The adult birds are sixteen inches long and plain bluish gray above, be- 

 coming lighter or almost white on the head. There is a large patch of 

 black in the region about the shoulders. The lower parts and tail are white. 

 There is a black spot in front and partly around the eye. The eyes are red. 

 The birds nest in trees, from thirty to fifty feet from the ground. The nest 

 consists of an outer structure of sticks and twigs, lined with strips of bark 

 and dry weeds and grasses. From three to five eggs are laid. Their ground 

 color is creamy white, washed and marked, so as to be almost obliterated with 



