Es una de los Buteos más grandes alcanzando de 45 a 65cm y hasta 1.6Kg de peso. I’m looking forward to seeing if photographers using digital cameras are more successful than non-digital photographers, as the Mississippi Kite is a very handsome species.Familia: Accipitridae Canto: Andrew SpencerĮl ratonero de cola roja o busardo colirrojo ( Buteo jamaicensis), también conocido como gavilán colirrojo o aguililla cola roja (en la República Dominicana y en Puerto Rico, guaraguao o warawao), es una especie de ave rapaz de la familia Accipitridae, ampliamente distribuida desde Alaska hasta las Antillas. Cloudy days are usually much better for photographing, but these are rare in Oklahoma summertime. The reasons are that there are light and dark areas on the bird which are further compromised by the sunny days of summer, when the sun usually serves to cast shadows. The Mississippi Kite is not an easy bird to photograph. Apparently biologists finally were heard on the subject and the crisis appears to have passed (I think a few kite eggs may have been transported from the golf course to other nests not in the immediate area). Of course the kites were just defending their nests and young nearby. Although I have not heard of any problems recently in the Oklahoma City area, back a number of years ago there would be a report in the paper almost every year about golfers at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club being “attacked” on the fairways. They can be defensive enough to actually strike a person close to the nest, but usually they just “buzz” someone closely. The kites are usually rather retiring, but they are aggressive protectors of their nests. If I remember correctly, Vicki Hatfield found Chimney Swift parts in a kite nest or two in that part of the state. I think one of the rare reports of this happening was reported from northeastern Oklahoma. They take a few other items such as lizards or mice on rare occasions, but usually do not prey on other birds. The birds will catch an insect in the air, pluck the wings off the insect, and eat the body-all while continuing to fly in the air. on its food usually mention cicadas and grasshopper, but dragonflies seem to be a common food item now. The kite is also often reported to be found near water, and there is a small pond in our neighborhood that also may help attract the kites.įood the kites eat is usually insectivorous. Recently we cut this tree down for safety reasons, but I’m confident the kites will find another spot nearby. The nest was in an oak that was slowly dying. One pair nested in an oak in our front lawn more than one year. I have counted up to 16-18 of them at one time, but these high counts were likely augmented by young of the year. It’s fun to see the kites wheeling about in the air on a regular basis. We live in a post/blackjack oak area with much of the undergrowth being lawn rather than shrubbery. They may be common it one spot and nearby, in similar habitat, be absent. (I think a type specimen is the first of a species to be collected and described scientifically.) The Mississippi Kite is so named because the type specimen was collected in Mississippi. My wife pointed out a major problem: the MISSISSIPPI Kite as the state bird of OKLAHOMA? I don’t think so. The thought crossed my mind that this kite might make a good state bird, if we didn’t have the Scissor-tail. We have the best state bird-the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher-of any state, but I also think of the Mississippi Kite as one of Oklahoma’s special birds. May is the month I associate with this kite becoming a common sight in the western two-thirds of Oklahoma. The Mississippi Kite is a nesting bird in Oklahoma, one of the late returners from its wintering grounds to the south.
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