With its deeply forked tail and bold black-and-white plumage, it is unmistakable in the summer skies above swamps of the Southeast. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. The lilting Swallow-tailed Kite has been called the coolest bird on the planet. A special section on conservation and a selection of references for further reading complement the text. It is 12 to 15 inches (3037 cm) beak to tail. They also trace its intriguing relationship with humans, from its discovery by Europeans in the nineteenth century to the present day.įor bird lovers and ornithologists alike, The Mississippi Kite will be an essential introduction to a bird well worth knowing. The Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Let’s get to it 6 species of hawks in Mississippi. The Mississippi Kite makes a streamlined silhouette as it careens through the sky on the hunt for small prey, or dive-bombs intruders that come too close to.

The authors describe all aspects of the kite's life cycle, from breeding and nesting, raising young, and hunting and feeding to the kite's annual winter migration to South America. Be sure and read to the end to see 2 bonus birds of prey found in Mississippi, the Mississippi Kite and the Osprey. Under various folk names, including Blue Darter, Grasshopper Hawk, and Mosquito Hawk, the Mississippi Kite ranges throughout the southern United States from the coasts of the Carolinas to the plains of the Southwest. Red-tailed Hawks are common and widely distributed in North America. For their first year, juveniles lack the red tail. Listen to Broad-winged hawk on - a comprehensive collection of North American bird songs and bird calls.

They are also commonly found across the Southern States such as. All of them, except the Harlan’s, sport a distinctive red tailas adults. Mississippi Kites are small, slender raptors most abundant in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. This engaging natural history, illustrated with superb color photographs, provides all a bird watcher needs to become acquainted with the kite, its life cycle, and its fascinating history with humans. North America boasts five Red-tailed Hawk subspecies: Western, Southwestern, Eastern, Krider’s, and Harlan’s.

Floating on air currents over rural countryside and open city spaces, the Mississippi Kite presents a familiar sight to many people across the southern United States, although this graceful hawk is not well known by name.

Mississippi kite hawk