SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 
291 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, placed in high trees. They are not very bulky structures and are composed of sticks, twigs, and Spanish moss, 
lined with weeds, grass, etc. 
Eggs, four to six in number, rather oval in form, white or greenish-white in color, spotted and blotched irregularly 
with brown and umber of varying shades. Dimensions from P48x l - 87 to l'50x 1‘90. 
HABITS. 
About the first week in April, in the more southern portions of Florida, and a little 
later in the more northern sections, quantities of Swallow-tailed Kites may be seen cours¬ 
ing through the air. They come like the Swallows; first a solitary individual appears, then 
a few more, until, at length, they are to be seen in all directions, often in companies of a 
dozen or more. It is, perhaps, difficult to find more graceful birds on the wing than these 
Kites and their elegant aerial gyrations do not fail to attract the attention of even the cas¬ 
ual observer. Not only in migrating do they resemble the Swallows but, as their name 
implies, in form, and also in flight; for they circle high over head, at such a giddy height 
that they appear like mere specks against the blue sky, when their long, broadly expanded 
tail is scarcely visible; then something below attracts their attention, so down they come, 
only to glide smoothly and swiftly over the tree tops. Their flight, when near the surface 
of the ground, is particularly noticeable, for although they move in a sinuous course and 
frequently double upon their tracks, all these evolutions are performed with a graceful ease 
which is seldom excelled by other birds. They have an object in thus traversing about, 
over the tops of the shrubbery, for they may be observed to swoop suddenly downward, 
pause a moment, almost on the ground, then mount quickly upward, bearing a writhing 
snake in their talons. This they eat as they fly, bending the head downward to secure 
each mouthful; thus devouring the entire reptile quite leisurely while sailing quietly about 
in ever broadening circles, until the meal is finished. 
The Swallow-tailed Kites appear to spend the greater portion of their time upon the 
wing and even when gathering material for the nest, they do not alight but fly through 
the trees and pluck off twigs or pick up bunches of Spanish moss. They present a sin¬ 
gular appearance when carrying this latter named material which, in Florida, is largely 
used in the composition of the nest, and I once saw one with such a long piece that it trailed, 
for at least two yards, behind the Kite as she flew swiftly through the air. 
Nest building, with these beautiful Kites, begins, in Florida, about the first week in 
May and the domiciles are placed in the tops of high pines or oaks which grow in situations 
remote from settlements; thus the eggs are quite rare in collections. The young make 
their appearance in due course, are carefully reared by their parents, and in early autumn, 
they all depart for the South, passing quite out of the country to spend the winter in the 
Tropics. 
GENUS IV. ICTINIA. THE PRAIRIE KITES. 
Gen. Ch. Bill, short, broad, well curved, with the cutting edge of upper mandible, lobed. Tarsus, not long and nearly 
naked. Tail, square and slightly emarginate, not exceeding in length one half the length of the wings which are considerably 
elongated. There is no ruff on the face. 
