8 
BO&TliHAMUS SOCIABILIS. 
After discovering the nest, as narrated, we were slowly returning homewards, when we per¬ 
ceived a Black-necked Stilt standing on the river’s margin, near the rapids. We shot at it and 
as the reports of our guns rang out we heard the friendly whoop of an Indian. We were ac¬ 
customed to hearing this cry and immediately answered it. Turning in the direction whence 
the sound came we saw a canoe containing the lithe form of a Seminole glide out from the 
neighboring cypress swamp. He came rapidly towards us and we recognized Billy, a son-in- 
law of the old chief Ellick. When he came near enough for us to discern his face we saw that 
he had something to tell. He pushed up and we exchanged the usual salutations. After this I 
showed him our precious nest and egg, and explained where we had found it, then asked him if 
he could procure any like them. He listened gravely until I had finished, and then said sim¬ 
ply "Me got urn.” "What!” we both exclaimed. "So-for-fun-i-kar' sos-ta-kar/” he quietly 
answered. "Where?” we asked. Billy said nothing, but led the way to the bow of his 
canoe and pointed to an old tin dipper. We looked into it and saw two Everglade Kites’ 
eggs lying on the bottom. It may be assumed that I was not long in transporting them to 
a safer place, while my companion gave vent to his delight in some whoops and a dance that 
caused the Indian to gaze at him in speechless admiration. Billy said that he found the eggs in 
a nest built in a bush. The next day Tiger also brought me two eggs from a nest built in a 
similar situation. 
I think two eggs are the usual number laid by this bird, for in three instances no more were 
found, and in the last eggs the embryos were considerably advanced. I also questioned the In¬ 
dians concerning it, and they said that two were all that the bird ever laid. The Everglade 
Kites appear to be very irregular in the time of depositing their eggs, as will be seen by the 
preceding account, and on the day of our discovering the nest we saw a female carrying mate¬ 
rial for building. This species is, unlike most other Kites and Hawks, very sociable in its 
habits. I have frequently seen six or eight specimens at one time flying over the marshes in 
company, or sitting together on the bushes. In flight they resemble the common Marsh Hawk. 
They are unsuspicious and may be approached quite readily. 
I have remarked that the first one I saw was carrying a round object in its talons, and after¬ 
wards frequently saw others doing the same thing. What these objects were was explained 
upon dissecting the specimens taken, for all their stomachs contained the animal of a species of 
fresh-water shell. This shell (JPomus depressa of Say) which was only a few years ago con¬ 
sidered quite rare, appears to be restricted to the fresh waters of Florida, where it abounds. It 
is round in form, about two inches in diameter, and dark, glossy green in color. I observed 
empty shells floating on the waters of the Everglades long before I had the slightest idea that 
they were cleaned by the Kites. After I dissected the birds, I searched around the bushes 
where they roosted and found the shells scattered about quite abundantly. The Indians call it 
Shal-ly-bung-kar^ Shortly after our first visit to the Everglades, bunches of eggs, about the 
size of humming birds’ began to appear on the stalks of the saw-grass. They increased in 
numbers rapidly until there were millions of them. I could not imagine what they were until 
Tiger informed me that they were Shal-ly-bung-kar' sos-ta-kar' (Pomus depressa eggs.) 
Although the Kites subsisted entirely upon the animals contained in these shells, and ap¬ 
peared to find them readily, yet I never saw a single living specimen. I have, however, found 
them on the Indian Hunting Grounds, when freshly killed by a fire which spread over a drier 
portion of the Glades. The talons of the Everglade Kite are curved just enough to grasp the 
shell readily, and its long, abruptly curved upper mandible is peculiarly fitted for removing the 
animal. It is not uncommon to find specimens of the shell with a hole punched in the side by 
this hook. I have never met with this bird except on the marshes of the Everglades, where it 
resides throughout the year. 
