s Nauclerus forficatus. Swai.low-t ailed Kite. - Mr. J. Akhurst 
th-il -ibout the year 1845. while collecting on the south shoic o 
tells me that about the yea 45 _ ^ 
r ^tao- T«lnnd he saw a bird ot tnis specie?-, x i .... , 
Long Island, h ^ unsuccessful. This I believe is us second 
Island.’ 
•C!,,n -NT. 0 . 0 . e.APJ-a. 1881 , P. 
c. 
The Swallow-tailed Kite in Rensselaer County, New York. In my 
collection is a specimen of an Blanoides forficatus, mounted by Mr. Wil- 
liam Gibson, of Lansingburg, N. Y., who told me that he received the 
dead bird July 17, 1886, from Mr. Griffin Haight, and that by dissecting 
the bird he found it was a male. Its plumage is that of an adult, and is in 
partly worn and moulting condition. Wing, 15.6 inches; tail, 11.6, 
with fork, 5.6. 
Mr. Haight lias a little house on a newly cleared acre, in the border of a 
large wood-lot in the eastern part of the town of Pittstown, about sixteen 
miles northeasterly from the city of Troy, and there breeds fancy fowls 
which run about freely in the clearing and ajacent woods. He informs me 
that Hawks trouble his fowls and carry off some chickens, and on the 
morning of July 16 he staid at home to clean out a few of the Hawks, and 
had shot three, and just fired at another, when he was surprised to' see, 
flying up from the woods by the clearing, a Swallow-tailed Kite, such as 
he had formerly seen in South Carolina. The Kite flew away and was 
gone about twenty minutes when it came down and lit on the dead 
stubby top of a tree by the clearing. After a few minutes, it flew up out 
of sight, but in about thirty minutes came down again and sat on the 
same dead tree-top for about seven minutes; it then flew up again out of 
sight. About fifty minutes later, t-aio Kites came down together and lit on 
the same dead tree stub. As he started toward them the largest Kite 
flew away in a flash, and as he went nearer the other Kite darted up 
overhead; he fired and killed it, and sent the dead bird to Mr. Gibson to 
be mounted. 
Mr. Haight informs me that he has since seen one or more of the Kites 
around a pond in a swamp of about four hundred acres, within two miles 
of his house ; once on July 29, and several times on August 9. He also 
saw at a distance, on dead ash trees standing in the swamp, three or four 
birds having the appearance and flight of Kites, and they alighted like 
young birds. He also observed one of the Kites about twenty rods off 
mg on a stub in the pond, in the latter part of August. He also 
about together low over a field of buckwheat, as if catching insects. One 
these Kites had a very long and deeply forked tail, and was larger than 
the other, which had its tail but little forked or nearly even at Hie end. 
thrsmuelircr”' 
From seeing the locality, and from the information received, it seems 
probable that a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites bred, in 1886, in Rensselaer 
LTabovfiiJ;’ 73 ° 33 ', and near 600 
teet above tide water level.— A ustin F. Park, Troy N. T. 
Auk, 3, oct./iese,: p. 
The Swallow-tailed Kite at Piermont, New York. — I made an obser- 
vation this morning (August 22, 1900) that must be of interest. Just at 
.noon, with the sky bright and clear, I stepped out into the yard in time 
to see a Swallow-tailed Kite (^Rlanoldes forficatus') sailing over. The 
bird passed over me at a height of about one hundred feet and it is quite 
impossible for me to have been mistaken about the identification. I have 
seen a number of these birds in the South, and of course have handled 
the dried specimens. The sun was shining brightl.v and disclosed all 
the beautiful details of plumage. 
Piermont is on the west bank of the Hudson, and about thirty miles 
above New York city. — G. L. Nicuola.s, M. D., Piermont, N. Y. 
Auk, XVII, Oct., 1900, p. 3 5 6, 
