Habits of the White-Tailed Kite

Abstract

(Elanus leucurus majusculus) the authors have condensed and combined their notes to give the salient features in one paper. Responsibility for each observation is shown by reference to numbered paragraphs (senior author responsible for paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14; junior author responsible for paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12). (1) The nest was found in southern California by Mr. James Dixon of Escondido. On April 2, 1939, his son, Ralph Dixon, the junior author and two friends, James Fassero and Gus Hanson, visited the nest and found that it contained eggs, which could not be seen clearly through the limbs by Ralph, who believed they were four in hum. bet. On April 16, Ralph again climbed the tree and reported that the eggs had hatched, and that there were three young in the nest. A special forty-foot ladder was guyed straight into the air, fifteen feet away from the nest on April 23 and a crate, formerly used for shipping a refrigerator, was placed without camouflage on top of it. On April 30, the senior author, as return courtesy for the loan of equipment, was invited to join the party. Ascending a second forty-foot ladder fastened to the main one, so that it extended obliquely toward the nest, the junior author obtained the first unobstructed view of the young and discovered that there were only two remaining. (2) At this time the young were approximately two weeks old. They were covered with a slate-blue down, the eyes were light brown, the feet pale flesh-color and the inside of the mouths unusually pink. The nest was lined with grass and a considerable amount of fur from meadow mice (Microtus californicus anctidiegi). When the junior