EVERGLADE KITE. 
285 
Young male. Similar to the adult female but with the throat whiter and the stripes on under surface lighter and a 
little broader. Superciliary line, extending from base of bill to occiput, and spaces on sides of neck, also white. Cere, 
etc., pale orange. Iris, ruby-red in all stages. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
There appears to be but little variation in specimens of the same age and sex. Known from all other species which oc¬ 
cur within our limits by the long, curved bill and claws and by the colors as described. A skin of an adult female, from 
the Smithsonian Collection (No, 53,081), taken in Buenos Ayres, and kindly loaned by Prof. Baird, does not differ essen¬ 
tially from Florida birds, excepting in being, prehaps, a little darker. Distributed, as a constant resident, throughout the 
marshy sections of Middle and Southern Florida and in some portions of South America. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of male specimens from Southern Florida. Length, 17*00;.stretch, 44*75; wing, 13*75; tail, 6*85; 
bill, l'OO; tarsus, P85. Longest specimen, 18*00; greatest extent of wing, 45*00; longest wing, 14*00; tail, 7*00; bill, 1'04; 
tarsus, 2-00. Shortest specimen, 16*00; smallest extent of wing, 44*25; shortest wing, 13*50; tail, 6-75; bill, '95; tarsus, 
1-75. 
Average measurements of female specimens from Southern Florida. Length, 17*05; stretch, 45*30; wing, 14*25; tail, 
7*50; bill, *93; tarsus, 1*65. Longest specimen, 17'10; greatest extent of wing, 45*90; longest wing, 14*50; tail, 7*50; bill, 
1*00; tarsus, 1*80. Shortest specimen, 17*00; smallest extent of wing, 44*75; shortest wing, 14*50; tail, 7*50; bill, *95; tar¬ 
sus, 1*43. 
' DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, placed in bushes. They are not very bulky structures and are composed of sticks, twigs, weeds, etc., lined with 
grass. 
Eggs, one or two in number, rather oval inform, bluish-white in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with brown 
and umber of varying shades. Dimensions from 1*40 x 1*55 to 1*55 x 1*76. 
HABITS. 
The Everglades! Nearly every intelligent individual looks with interest on these 
words, but to him who loves to study the works of Nature, they express volumes of untold 
wonders; for long has this section of Florida been an unknown land to the naturalist. Ow¬ 
ing to their remote situation, but a few white men ever enter their limits; indeed, I will 
venture to state that it would be difficult to find a hundred individuals who have stood 
within their borders and few among this number would possess any great degree of intel¬ 
ligence, while perhaps none would be students of Nature. I had long desired to see this 
far-famed spot and was, therefore, much pleased to find myself on the banks of the Miami 
River and learn that this beautiful stream was one of the numerous thoroughfares used by 
the Seminoles in passing to and from their homes in Pi-i-o-kee, the Indian name for the 
Everglades. 
Not long after our arrival, four of us entered a small dingey with the intention of 
visiting these extensive marshes. This attempt, however, proved unsuccessful, for we 
were unable to stem the swift current with the boat so heavily laden. 
But a few days later, on the eigthteenth of February, accompanied only by a single 
individual, I again made the attempt. We started early in the morning and rowed up 
the winding river, the margins of which were bordered for some distance with mangroves. 
Leaving these, we came into a more open country and caught sight of the pine barrens. 
Still we pushed onward, passed the only houses, or rather shanties, that disgrace the bank, 
and entered the unbroken wilderness beyond. The river’s edges were now overhung by a 
dense growth of flowering shrubs from which rose an occasional palmetto that hung its 
