50 
THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 
as far as the falls of St. Anthony, in the forty-fourth degree of north latitude. They appear 
in the United States about the close of April or the beginning of May, and are very numerous 
in the Mississippi territory, twenty or thirty being sometimes visible at the same time. In the 
month of October they begin to return to the south, at which season Mr. Bateman observed 
them in great numbers assembled in Florida, soaring steadily at great elevations for several 
days in succession, and slowly passing to their winter quarters along the Ghilf of Mexico.” 
Audubon remarks that it has never been seen farther eastward than Pennsylvania, and 
that only a few solitary individuals have been discovered in that locality. Towards the south 
it becomes more numerous, and in Louisiana and Mississippi it is extremely abundant, arriving 
in considerable numbers at the beginning of April, as many as a hundred having been counted 
in the space of a single hour, all passing 
directly from east to west. On their first 
arrival they are so fatigued with their 
journey that they are easily approached ; 
but owing to their habit of soaring at an 
immense height, they are tolerably safe 
even from man at all other seasons. 
This falcon bears so strong an ex- 
ternal resemblance 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. Various locusts, cicadse, and 
other insects, are captured in this man- 
ner. It ’ also follows the honey buzzard 
in its fondness for wasps and their larvae, 
and has been noticed to excavate a wasp’s 
nest, and to tear away the comb precisely 
like that bird. Reptiles, such as small 
snakes, lizards, and frogs, 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. 
Audubon found that when he had succeeded in killing one of these birds, he could shoot 
as many more as he chose, because they have a habit of circling round the body of their 
slaughtered comrade, and sweep round it as if they were endeavoring to carry it away. Taking 
advantage of this peculiarity, he was enabled to procure as many specimens as he desired, 
shooting them as fast as he could reload his gun. 
The Fork-tailed Kite, or Swallow-tail, so called, is peculiarly an American form, the genus 
having only one species. It belongs to the tropical and subtropical regions more properly, but 
is occasionally seen as far north as Pennsylvania. It is common on the Mississippi V alley as 
far as Wisconsin, where it breeds. Few groups of birds vary in their habits more than Hawks 
and Kites. The last species noticed was really graceful in its movements on the ground, while 
the present bird is awkward in the extreme. This species of Kite is far from awkward in his 
proper element, however ; he is there a swallow-like flyer, his long, forked tail sweeping the 
air most gracefully. This bird has the singular faculty of also feeding on the wing. He has 
ARABIAN KITE.—. 
