_Elanus leucurus_
A gray bird with white underparts, rather short
white tail and black shoulders. L. 15-1/2.
_Range._ Chiefly southwestern United States and
southward east to the lower Mississippi Valley.
This is a rare bird east of the Mississippi. It frequents open marshy
places and feeds upon small snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, etc., which
it captures on the ground. The nest is built in trees, and the 3-5 eggs,
heavily marked with brown, are laid in May.