Probably kites arriving from their northward migration are already
paired. In those observed at the Park in the first week of June, there
was no indication of courtship, or of sexual rivalry. On June 1, 1961,
incubation had begun. The birds had arrived some three weeks earlier,
according to Smith. Although arriving from the south long after most
raptors have begun their nesting, the kites are not further delayed by
establishment of territories and choosing of mates, and nesting is
underway soon after their arrival. According to Sutton (1939:45) the
nest-building is an exceedingly leisurely process. In the first two
weeks after their arrival he observed that the kites only occasionally
bring a twig to the nest, usually repairing last year's structure
rather than starting a new one. Sutton recorded egg-laying on May 17
and 18 and hatching on June 18 in northwestern Oklahoma, and the
timing of these events must be similar in Meade County, Kansas.
Shortly before sunset on June 1 a pair was observed at close range
from a parked automobile as the kites perched on roadside fence posts
about 50 feet apart at the Park boundary. At this time the birds
lacked their usual restlessness and were perching quietly, neither
preening nor attempting to find prey. With no preliminaries the male
flew to the female and lit on her back to copulate. The female was
receptive but did not crouch in a horizontal position. The mounting
lasted for approximately a minute. During the first 30 seconds the
male was fully occupied with balancing and positioning himself, and
copulation occurred only during the latter half of the mounting.
During this interval cloacal contact was effected three times, but was
only momentary each time. The birds were silent. After the male left,
the female continued to perch until flushed by my movements.
Judging from the nests that were examined, the kites of the Meade Park
area are well synchronized in their nesting, as all arrive at
approximately the same time. Bent (1936:66) stated that if a kite's
nest is robbed, the birds will lay a second set, either in the old
nest or a new one, about two weeks later. All young seen at Meade
State Park seemed to represent an age range of considerably less than
two weeks, and, presumably, no renestings were involved.
Nests were variable in size. Some were remarkably small in relation to
size of the kites, and would scarcely have been credited to this
species, had not the kites been seen sitting on them. Nests were from
10 to 18 (average 14) inches long and from 10 to 14 (average 11.7)
inches wide, in forks or crotches of branches. The branches supporting
the nests were from 11/2 to 10 inches in diameter. The nests were
constructed of twigs of approximately pencil size. Of 37 nests at the
Park, 29 were in cottonwoods, six were in willows, and two were in
elms. The figures probably reflect the relative numbers of each of
these species of tree rather than any clear-cut preference of the
kites. By the time nesting has begun the trees have leafed out, and
the nests are well concealed.
At the time of my visit to the Park, July 18 to 22, nestlings were
well grown, and were beginning to feather out. On August 4 and 5 the
young were well feathered, but flight feathers were not fully grown
and the young remained in the nest or perched on nearby branches. On
August 21 to 24 the young were fully fledged, and were able to fly
strongly but they still spent most of their time perching and those of
a brood tended to stay near together, usually in the nest tree.
In a total of 261/2 hours of observation, 148 feedings were
observed--on the average one per 10.7 minutes. The interval changed
from an average of 12.8 minutes for 62 feedings on July 19 to 21, to
8.5 minutes for 59 feedings on August 4, and to 10.8 minutes for 27
feedings on August 21. The longer interval on July 19 to 21 may have
resulted from the greater furtiveness of the adult kites at this stage
in their nesting cycle. Nests usually were watched through field
glasses at distances of 50 to 100 feet. Ordinarily kites are not
disturbed by the presence of a person at these distances, but when
delivering food to the nest they seemed somewhat distracted and
sometimes stopped only momentarily then left, still carrying the food.
Usually they swooped at the observer when leaving; rarely they swooped
at him as they approached the nest. All observations were between
10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and there was no obvious trend according to time.
Earlier and later in the day the rate of delivery is probably less.
The kites are notably late risers, and their activity increases
gradually after sunrise; in late afternoon activity tapers off again.
In 89 feedings, the average visit to the nest lasted 51 seconds but
this average included a few relatively long stops, up to four minutes
in length, and 60 per cent of the visits were for intervals of 30
seconds or less.
Insects often protruded from the bills of the adult kites delivering
food, but most of the food was carried in the throat. Sometimes the
gorge was much distended, although nothing protruded from the mouth.
The adult upon alighting sometimes would pass food to the nestling,
and sometimes would disgorge a mass of food in the nest in front of
the nestling. When the young were small, the adult after having
disgorged a food mass, remained to pick up the food, bit by bit, and
place it in the mouth of the nestling. However, after the young were
partly feathered out the adult merely left the food for them. The
nestling sometimes would peck at the disgorged material for several
minutes after the adult left before all of the food was eaten.
The small nestlings are generally silent, but when handled or
otherwise disturbed, they give soft lisping peeps. By early August,
when the young have ventured from the nest bowl to nearby branches,
they become vocal and their calls can be heard more often than those
of the adults. The call of the adult has been well rendered by Sutton
(1939:43) with the syllables "phee phew"--a whistle in which the first
syllable is short (lasting only about one-fourth of a second) with a
rising inflection, clipped off short, while the second syllable has a
downward inflection, and is drawn out to two or three times the length
of the first syllable. The call of the fledgling is soft, with a
lisping quality; that of the adult is much like it but is sharper and
more piercing. Fledglings call frequently while waiting to be fed, but
as an adult approaches with food, the calls are given in rapid
succession and slurred to a high thin squablike squeaking or
squealing.
When fledglings are able to fly and have left the nest, the adults
generally pass food to them directly, rather than dropping the
regurgitated mass, which might fall to the ground and be lost. On
August 22 a fledgling was seen following an adult in flight, and was
also seen to eat while it was flying. At this stage, when an adult fed
one young of a brood, the other would sometimes fly to the spot in an
attempt to share the meal. However, the transfer of food was usually
rapid and the adult would leave within a few seconds. Young often were
seen to fly out from the nest tree and maneuver in the vicinity,
flying in a roughly circular course perhaps 100 feet in diameter and
then returning to the nest tree, thereby familiarizing themselves with
their surroundings.
According to the consensus of published accounts, there are usually
two eggs per clutch, occasionally one or three. However, Ganier
(1902:89), who studied the species in Mississippi, wrote: "Of all the
nests I have examined [number unspecified] only one was found to
contain more than a single egg." Nice (1931:69) recorded 19 sets of
two each and seven of one each in Oklahoma. In the course of my
observations, 12 clutches of two were recorded. A group of four
fledglings were observed concentrating their activities at a nest more
than 200 feet from any other known nests; possibly all belonged to the
same brood, but this was not definitely determined.
Many of the nests that were in use in 1961 appeared to be relics from
earlier years, as the material was darkened and disintegrating, but
probably a new layer of sticks had been added on the top. Bent (_op.
cit._:65) mentioned this kite's habit of frequently using the same
nest in successive years. On one occasion as I drove over a
little-used road in the Park and passed a cottonwood grove where kites
were nesting, one of the birds swooped down and struck the top of the
automobile. In a subsequent conversation, Harry Smith asked me if this
had happened, and said that this particular kite had struck his truck
frequently when he drove past its nest. This had occurred at the same
place in three successive years, and Smith was convinced that the same
kite had used the nest each year, although the bird was not
recognizable except by its unusually aggressive behavior. On dozens of
occasions in the course of my observations kites swooped at me when I
was near their nests, but, except for this one individual, they always
veered away at a distance of several feet or several yards.
At the time of my visit to the Park in early June, kites were
relatively silent and secretive in their behavior. Approximately half
of those that were incubating flushed when a person walked near the
tree, but others continued to sit on their eggs until a person had
climbed to within a few feet of the nest. Upon being flushed, such a
kite, in 50 per cent of observed instances, swooped at least once at
the intruder, but some of the kites would soar overhead, watching
without making any active defense. At the time of my next visit, July
18 to 21, when the kites were feeding well grown nestlings, behavior
at the nest was much different. As soon as a nest was located the
parents began scolding and swooping. At the first nest observed, a
group of eight kites had congregated within two minutes to scold and
harass the intruders. Even kites whose nests were kept under
observation frequently, never became fully reconciled to the intrusion
but there was much difference between individuals in this respect.
Some were reluctant to deliver food and, having secured prey, would
fly about in the vicinity without coming to the nest.