Mississippi Kite: Bird of the Week
I am joining in with I.J. Khanewala’s Bird of the Week. This week I.J. shows us a colorful Brahminy Starling from India.
Here in Texas, my Bird of the Week is the Mississippi Kite, a raptor that summers in Texas, and winters in South America. But I don’t see them here every year; I last saw them in 2013 and 2017. When they are here, they are a lot more obvious than the other hawks we have (Red-shouldered, Red-tailed, Broad-winged), because they soar out in the open during the day, catching insects. To me they have a very distinctive silhouette — long narrow pointed wings and a very triangular tail.
Mississippi Kite; very distinctive silhouette when flying
Mississippi Kite
This year we have at least one pair here, and I have seen them almost every day since June 24th. In the evenings, I often see one perch and stay stationary for about 20 minutes, but usually in the very top of a tree, or just when it is getting dark and my camera can’t focus.
Mississippi Kite — a very nice picture from a few days ago, but it doesn’t show much of the bird.
Yesterday one of the kites perched in a tall dead pine — the light was good, but that tree is beyond the range that my camera can get a really sharp photo. But it still called out to be Bird of the Week! 🙂
Mississippi Kite
Mississippi Kite, Ictinia mississippiensis
After it had been on the dead tree for a while, it flew closer and stayed in the shade on an oak tree. After a while, a young Blue Jay flew over to the tree as well, and then started squawking at the Kite. I would have thought that the Blue Jay was no threat to the Kite, but it flew off.
Mississippi Kite
The young Blue Jay that chased off the Kite.
I have enjoyed paying more attention than usual to these birds as I tried to get some good photos. I wonder who will step up to be Bird of the Week next week! 🙂
Interesting bird. Many kites are opportunistic hunters, and mostly feed on dead animals. I’m amazed that this catches insects on the fly. Maybe the large eyes are an adaptation.
That’s interesting about many kites eating dead animals. We have three in this part of Texas — Mississippi, Swallow-tailed, and White-tailed — and I looked it up to be sure, but all of them catch and eat insects and rodents. The other that lives in Mexico and the very southern tip of Texas, is the Hook-billed which specializes in snails. I have never seen any of them eating dead animals, but I have seen Bald Eagles doing so!
I’ve never seen a Mississippi Kite in the real world, but I think they’re such beautiful birds. Nice choice!