Mississippi Kite
(Ictinia mississippiensis)
Photo by Allen Cruickshank from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Visual Services
Cool fact:
The Mississippi Kite specializes in hunting flying insects. It sometimes takes advantage of insects disturbed into flight by passing animals, people, or fire. When prey is particularly abundant, it will forage in groups.
The Mississippi Kite is an aerial feeding specialist. A typical feeding session begins with a graceful circling flight upwards, perhaps several hundred feet. When the kite spots a large insect, it folds its wings and goes into a shallow dive. The fall ends in the capture of a cicada, grasshopper, cricket, beetle, or even dragonfly within this hawk's talons. The kite discards the insect's exoskeleton and eats the rest. Small vertebrate remains are sometimes found scattered on the ground around the nest. However, vertebrates are a small portion of the diet and probably result from scavenged road kills.
These gregarious hawks form nesting colonies in suitable habitat. In fact, the Mississippi Kite is one of few hawk species that has nest helpers. Nest helpers are usually one-year-olds who typically help defend the nest but also may aid in nest construction, incubation, and brooding.
Nesting sites are typically large trees near open foraging areas. The nest is a platform of sticks and twigs, lined with green leaves. Fresh leaves are periodically added, perhaps to cover waste food decaying at the bottom of the nest. Two eggs are usually laid.
The Mississippi Kite can be a ferocious defender of the nest, even attacking humans who venture too close. Golfers and homeowners may find themselves attacked by kites that build their nests near golf courses and homes. The opening up of forested areas in the Southeastern United States has created new habitat for the Mississippi Kite. Likewise, suburban plantings, windbreaks and shelterbelts have provided nesting opportunities in areas previously unavailable - like parts of the Great Plains. Consequently, the Mississippi Kite has a broader range today than in pre-colonial times, and is thought to be maintaining or even increasing its populations.
Mississippi Kites abandon the Northern Hemisphere and migrate to warmer climates in the fall. Hundreds of birds can be seen in migratory flocks en route. Most are believed to winter in interior South America after an overland journey of 3,000 - 4,000 miles.
Description:
The adult Mississippi Kite is unmistakable. It has a plain gray body, slightly darker wings, and a lighter-colored head. The tail, unique among North American Hawks, is solid black. From above, the wings show a chestnut tint in the primaries and whitish patches at the secondary feathers. A black mask surrounds its red eyes. The smallish bill is black with a yellow gape.
The juvenile has a banded tail and brown streaked body. It is best distinguished by its falcon-like silhouette and insect-hawking behavior.
