Notes on Post-breeding American Swallow-tailed Kites, 
Elanoides forficatus (Falconiformes: Accipitridae), in 
North Central Florida 
David S. Lee and Mary K. Clark 
North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences 
P.O. Box 29555 
Raleigh , North Carolina 27626-0555 
ABSTRACT — In 1982 we made observations and collected a 
limited sample of American swallow-tailed kites (Elanoides 
forficatus ) summering in central Florida. Birds occurred in esti- 
mated densities of about three adult kites per kilometer of river. 
Post-breeding birds had heavy accumulations of subcutaneous fat. 
Adult males (n = 4, x = 550 g) weighed less than females (n = 
5, x - 613 g), but more than immatures (n = 2, x = 481 g). 
Mean mercury loads were 0.09 ppm for muscle, 0.25 ppm for 
liver, and 0.31 ppm for kidney tissues. All adults were actively 
molting flight feathers, making it possible to visually census for 
adult/young-of-year ratios in mid-July. Most food items were 
small flightless insects (8-50 mm), apparently gleaned from 
flower heads of cabbage palmettos. Major prey items consisted of 
various bugs: palmetto weevils (Rhynchophorus cruenlatus ), 
horntails (Eriotrenex formosanus ), queen fire ants ( Solenopsis 
invicta), and young flightless grasshoppers (Melanoplus sp.). 
Several larger prey items — one green treefrog (Hyla cinerea ) four 
anoles (Anolis carolinensis ), and one bat (Pipistrellus subflavus ) — 
were also recovered. 
Examination of recent records of birds north of their current 
breeding range indicates that the main period of northward dis- 
persal is mid-April through June, a period when nesting is in 
progress. Thus, these individuals probably represent young 
nonbreeding birds. After the mid-March to late June nesting sea- 
son, local birds gather in small flocks, complete their molt, and 
move to larger communal summer roosts. By mid-August to early 
September, the kites depart for their South American wintering 
grounds. 
The reduced breeding range of the American swallow-tailed 
kite is difficult to explain in view of the information obtained in 
our study. Our work suggests that the species is a feeding gener- 
alist and that it does not feed high on the food chain. 
While the breeding biology of American swallow-tailed kites 
( Elanoides forficatus forficatus) has been examined in some detail 
(Synder 1974), other aspects of this bird’s life history are described, 
for the most part, as scattered notes. This information has been 
Brimleyana 19:185-203, December 1993 
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