Kite

a bird of the hawk kind. The kite is supposed to be smaller, less powerful, and less fierce than the hawk. Its talons and bill are indicative of a somewhat subdued disposition. The swallowtailed kite of eastern North America is very attractive in appearance. If the reader should see a graceful hawk sailing over the tree tops with a tail divided into two long pointed, widely spreading divisions, the chances are that it is the swallowtailed kite. The underparts are white. The upper parts are of a glossy, bluish black. It nests in tall trees. It snatches up a fish from the surface of the water without lighting and eats it one the wing. It is seldom seen at rest. A white-tailed kite breeds from Indian Territory southwestward through Mexico and South America. The Mississippi kite breeds from Illinois southward. The everglade kite or snail-hawk summers in southern Florida. All our kites retire southward to tropical America in the winter time. See Hawk