SWALLOW-TAILED KITE
327. Elanoides forficatus. 24 in.
Tail long and deeply forked; plumage white, and glossy black; feet short but stout; bill black, with cere and feet bluish-gray. The flight of these birds is very swift and swallow-like; at times they circle about for long periods, on motionless wings; at others, they will be seen swooping over marshes and low ground; the evolutions they perform during the mating season are wonderful to behold, floating, sailing, doubling and turning, in all imaginable positions, as though they were a part of the air itself.
Notes.—A shrill whistled “peet-peet.”
Nest.—Composed of twigs, lined with moss and rootlets; usually located in the tops of trees at great heights; 90 to 125 feet from the ground not being uncommon; eggs pale bluish-white, very handsomely marked with brown (1.85 × 1.5).
Range.—Breeds north to Virginia, Manitoba and Minnesota; winters south of the United States.
WHITE-TAILED KITE
328. Elanus leucurus. 16 in.
Head, underparts and tail, white; shoulders black; upperparts gray. Young, with the back tinged with rusty. Their food consists largely of snakes, but they also eat a great many small rodents and insects.