The bill and talons of the kite are black and its feet are yellow, orange in color and the iris are crimson. It flies at a leisurely pace and floats in the air smoothly and elegantly like a kestrel, hence the name "kite." At one time the White Tailed Kites, Elanus leucurus, once inhabited areas across the southern United States. Birders also found the White Tailed Kite living in areas in Northern Mexico and on the west coast of California and Oregon. Because man hunted the kite only a small population survived in an isolated area of central California and it is a permanent resident.
Because of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, learning new ways to farm and teaching people about the White Tailed Kite helped restore its population. The wildlife managers also and introduced the house mouse to areas where the kite did survive and these helped populations to increase.
The White Tailed Kite breeds in both North and South America, mainly in Texas, California, South Carolina and Florida. In South America the kite is a resident in Argentina and some birders observe them in Chili.
White Tailed Kite start to lay their brown mottled colored eggs at the last part of February and may continue until the last days in May. The White Tailed Kite will sometimes lay a second clutch of eggs after the first set of chicks has fledged.
The White Tailed Kite prefers to build their small twig nests in the tree tops five to 60 feet high in sycamore, oak, and willow trees. Often they build the nest in a separate tree. Usually bird watchers and wild life managers find four eggs in each nest and the kite may
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