Joint defense against a common enemy was noted on July 21, 1961, when
21 kites were seen swooping at a Swainson's hawk perched near the top
of a large cottonwood, where it was partly protected by foliage and
branches. When I flushed the hawk, it was pursued and harassed by the
kites, some of which followed it for nearly a quarter mile although
there were no nests of the kites nearby. On August 4 a group of six
kites was seen heckling a fledgling Swainson's hawk, which crouched
among thick foliage in the top of a tall cottonwood, as the kites
swooped at it, sometimes brushing it with their wings when they swept
past. Dr. Hibbard mentioned an instance in which a horned owl was
flushed, and was chased and heckled by a red-tailed hawk and by a
group of kites. The latter seemed to regard the owl as the greater
enemy, but ordinarily any large raptor arouses their hostility.
Because of their exceptionally swift and skillful flight, the adult
kites have few natural enemies, but the eggs or nestlings are
vulnerable to such enemies as crows, jays, the larger hawks and owls,
and to certain mammalian predators, notably raccoons. Also, many nests
probably are destroyed by the sudden and violent summer storms that
are characteristic of the High Plains. Bendire (1892:178) cited
observations by Goss that in a hailstorm in Barber County, Kansas,
eggs were destroyed in many kites' nests and some of the nests were
almost completely demolished. Several nests found by me to have
incubating eggs in the first week of June were abandoned or had
disappeared completely by July 18, but the cause was not evident. One
nest that was under observation on July 22 had nestlings approximately
two-thirds grown on that date, but on August 4 only a few sticks
remained, and the carcass of a fledgling dangled from a limb ten feet
below the nest. Even at the Park where firearms are prohibited, kites
are sometimes shot by ignorant or malicious persons. In general,
Kansas ranchers recognize the harmless and beneficial habits of kites,
appreciate their esthetic appeal and protect them, but many persons
use them as convenient targets, with utter disregard for the Federal
laws protecting them. Because of the strong popular prejudice against
raptorial birds in general, laws protecting them are usually not
enforced. Law enforcement officers do not take action even when
clear-cut violations come to their attention. Arrest and prosecution
for the killing of any kind of raptor is almost out of the question in
Kansas.