232 
ORDERS OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 
observation is that the Marsh-Hawk nests on the 
ground, preferably in tall grass, in a nest that is 
anything but a workmanlike affair. When I 
found my first nest of this bird, — a patch of 
trampled grass in the head of a slough, with four 
big, downy nestlings wallowing around upon it, — - 
the Marsh-Hawk fell several points in my esti- 
mation. 
This species ranges all the way from Alaska, 
Hudson’s Bay and Ontario to Panama and Cuba. 
Regarding its value, Dr. Fisher has this to say: 
“The Marsh-Hawk is unquestionably one of 
the most beneficial as it is one of our most abun- 
dant hawks, and its presence and increase should 
be encouraged in every way possible, not oidy 
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 
by protecting it by law, but by disseminating a 
knowledge of the benefits it confers. It is prob- 
ably the most active and determined foe of 
meadow-mice and ground-squirrels, destroying 
greater numbers of these pests than any other 
species, and this fact alone should entitle it to 
protection, even if it destroyed no other injuri- 
ous animals.” 
One hundred and twenty-four specimens of 
this species were examined, and the stomachs 
revealed the following contents. 57, mice; 27, 
other mammals; 34, birds; 14, insects; 7, poul- 
try or game-birds; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; 1, un- 
known and 8 were empty. 
The Swallow-Tailed Kite , 1 or, as the boys of 
the prairies call it, the Forked-Tailed “Hawk,” 
is in flight the most graceful bird I ever saw on 
the wing. No matter whether the sky be blue 
or gray, the snow-white head, neck and body, 
and glossy black tail and wings are sharply 
outlined in the heavens, drawing attention as a 
magnet draws nails. The bird is instantly iden- 
tified by its long and deeply V-shaped tail, and 
its striking colors, which divide evenly between 
themselves the under surface of the wing. 
In the golden days of boyhood, I saw scores 
of these birds in Iowa, but never saw one alight 
and perch, even for a moment. Several times we 
saw them with snakes in their talons, devour- 
ing them as they sailed through the air, and we 
also saw two or three seizures of prey. But it 
is the flight of this bird that makes the most 
lasting impression. In hunting and prospect- 
ing it never flies in a straight line, but always in 
graceful curves, and reverse curves, circles, 
parabolas, and spirals, like an expert skater 
“showing off.” Its flight is indeed the poetry 
of motion in mid-air. 
Unfortunately, this beautiful bird is not 
of wide distribution in the North, for its real 
home is in the tropics. In the United States 
it migrates northward in April into Iowa, Min- 
nesota, Illinois, southern Michigan, and at rare 
intervals farther east and west to the Carolinas 
and the plains. So far as known, its food con- 
sists exclusively of small reptiles and large in- 
sects. 
This bird fitly represents the whole group 
of Kites, of which the White-Tailed, Kite is the 
Pacific coast species. The Mississippi Kite in- 
habits the Gulf states, and the Everglade Kite 
reaches our country only in Florida. 
THE VULTURE FAMILY. 
Cathartidae. 
This Family ranks at the bottom of the list 
of the birds of prey, because its members are 
less intelligent, less active and resourceful in 
obtaining their food, and less able to take care of 
themselves than the hawks and owls. Although 
1 El-a-noi'des Jor-ft-ca'tus. Average length, about. 
23 inches. 
