![]() ![]() ![]() Nesting birds swoop low over the ground to snatch snakes, frogs and lizards to nourish their chicks. They’ll fly just above the surface of a pond and scoop up water in their beaks. The birds merely torque their wings to guide their elegantly swaying flight with wingbeats at a minimum.Ī 12- to 15-inch long, bifurcated black tail swivels like a rudder to maneuver the birds as they swoop up and down while gliding over treetops, their talons extending to pluck up cicadas, grasshoppers, wasps, dragonflies and other insects. Swallow-tailed kites glide through the sky on a 4-foot, two-toned wingspan, with their leading edges white and the trailing edges black. MORE FROM GARY CLARK: Sphinx moths look like hummingbirds hovering in the garden Their kite moniker originates from the Old English word "cytai," first used to describe the screaming call of hawks.īut as people watched paper toys called kites swaying in the air while held aloft by a string, they called similar flying birds "kites." They glide, turn and twist through the air. ![]() Swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites will sail over local neighborhoods in the next few weeks on their migratory journey to their South American wintering grounds. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Show More Show Less Mississippi Kite numbers will swell in coming weeks as they join with others from the southern US on their southbound migration. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Show More Show Less 4 of4 Mississippi Kites can be seen soaring over area neighborhoods where they nest. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Show More Show Less 3 of4 Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Show More Show Less 2 of4 Swallow-tailed kites will sail over local neighborhoods in the coming weeks on their migratory journey to South American wintering grounds. ![]()
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