What bird is that?

by Frank M. Chapman

WHITE-TAILED KITE
Elanus leucurus

A gray bird with white underparts, rather short white tail and black shoulders. L. 15½.

Range. Chiefly southwestern United States and southward east to the lower Mississippi Valley.

This is a rare bird east of the Mississippi. It frequents open marshy places and feeds upon small snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, etc., which it captures on the ground. The nest is built in trees, and the 3-5 eggs, heavily marked with brown, are laid in May.

MISSISSIPPI KITE
Ictinia mississippiensis

A slaty-blue bird with black tail and wings and red eyes. L. 14.

Range. Southern United States, north to South Carolina, and southern Indiana; winters chiefly south of the United States and returns in April.

A low-flying hunter of insects, snakes and frogs. It migrates in loose flocks sometimes near the earth, at others far above it. The nest is placed in tall trees. The eggs are laid in May; they number 1-3, and are dull white, occasionally with a bluish tinge.

EVERGLADE KITE
Rostrhamus sociabilis

A dark slate-colored bird with a white rump and a rather slender hooked bill. The young are quite different; black above, tipped with reddish brown, below mottled and barred with black, reddish brown and buff, but with the white rump-patch of the adult. L. 18.