- Comments: With
their long pointed wings and long tails Mississippi kites are sometimes mistaken for
falcons. In flight they appear uniformly battleship gray with a light gray head that
sometimes appears nearly white. The eyes of adult kites are dark red. In flight, they are
a joy to watch. Circling, soaring and swooping with other kites they drift back and forth
and sometimes remain aloft for hours. They are appropriately named. So graceful and
effortless is their flight they appear to be attached by a string. Their nests are found
in mature trees in shelterbelts, windbreaks, city parks, golf courses and residential
neighborhoods. They are known for their aggressive dives on intruders that venture too
close to the nest site
- Distribution:
Mississippi kites currently breed in the southern United States from central Arizona to
the Atlantic Coast. Their breeding range in Kansas lies in the southwestern and
south-central part of the state. Most kites winter in central South America.
- Food: Kites
are skilled at capturing cicadas and grasshoppers on the fly. They will also capture large
insects on the ground. Occasionally they will feed on small birds, rodents, frogs and
snakes.
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