Part 10

=Swallow-tailed Kite=: Elanoides forficatus forficatus (Linnaeus).--This kite was formerly a summer resident in eastern Kansas; it no longer occurs as a breeding species.

Breeding schedule.--In Kansas the season seemed to occur relatively late in the year for a raptor; eggs were laid in May, so far as is known.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 2 eggs (Davie, 1898).

Nests are placed in tops of trees.

=Mississippi Kite=: Ictinia misisippiensis (Wilson).--This is a common summer resident in southern Kansas, west to Morton County. Specimens taken in the breeding season and records of nesting come from south of stations in Grant, Barton, Harvey, and Douglas counties; the present center of abundance is in Meade, Clark, Comanche, Barber, and Harper counties.

Breeding schedule.--Seven records of breeding span the period April 20 to June 10; the peak of egg-laying seems to be in the first week of May.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.

Nests are placed about 35 feet high (from 25 to 50 feet) in cottonwood, willow, elm, black locust, and the like.

=Sharp-shinned Hawk=: Accipiter striatus velox (Wilson).--This rare summer resident apparently occurs only in the eastern part. The two nesting records are from Cloud and Pottawatomie counties.

Breeding schedule.--The information at hand suggests the birds lay in April and May.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).

Nests are placed 20 or more feet high in coniferous or deciduous trees.

=Cooper Hawk=: Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte).--This is an uncommon resident. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual records of nesting come from east of stations in Cloud, Anderson, and Montgomery counties.

Breeding schedule.--Fourteen records of breeding span the period March 21 to May 30; the modal date of egg-laying is April 25.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.8, 2-5; 5).

Nests are placed from 15 to 30 feet high, averaging 25 feet in elm, oak, and other trees.

=Red-tailed Hawk=: Buteo jamaicensis borealis (Gmelin).--This is a common resident east of the 100th meridian; to the west numbers are reduced, although the species is by no means unusual in western Kansas. Red-tails probably always were uncommon in western Kansas; Wolfe (1961) reports that they were "very rare as a nesting species" in Decatur County shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. Breeding schedule.--Thirty-six records of breeding span the period February 21 to April 10 (Fig. 3); the modal date of egg-laying is March 5.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (2.6, 2-3; 20).

Nests are placed about 40 feet high, ranging from 15 to 70 feet in cottonwood, honey locust, osage orange, sycamore, and walnut.

=Red-shouldered Hawk=: Buteo lineatus lineatus (Gmelin).--This is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in riparian and bottomland timber. Nesting records are available from Leavenworth, Woodson, and Linn counties, and red-shoulders probably also nest in Doniphan County (Linsdale, 1928).

Breeding season.--Eggs are laid in March and April.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs (Davie, 1898).

Nests are placed up to 70 feet high in elms and other streamside trees.

TABLE 11.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF THE SUMMER RESIDENT VULTURE AND HAWKS IN KANSAS

===============+===========================+============================ | Arrival | Departure SPECIES +-----------------+---------+------------------+--------- | Range | Median | Range | Median ---------------+-----------------+---------+------------------+--------- Turkey Vulture | Mar. 7-Mar. 30 | Mar. 15 | Sept. 24-Oct. 28 | Oct. 5 Red-shouldered | | | | Hawk | Feb. 10-Mar. 14 | Feb. 26 | Oct.-Dec. | Broad-winged | | | | Hawk | Apr. 4-Apr. 21 | Apr. 12 | Sept. 1-Oct. 20 | Swainson Hawk | Mar. 24-Apr. 28 | Apr. 12 | Oct. 5-Nov. 2 | Oct. 11 ---------------+-----------------+---------+------------------+---------

=Broad-winged Hawk=: Buteo platypterus platypterus (Vieillot).--This is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in swampy woodland. Specimens taken in the breeding season and nesting records are from Shawnee, Douglas, Leavenworth, and Johnson counties; there are several nesting records from Missouri in the bottomlands just across the river from Wyandotte County Kansas. Occurrence in time is listed in Table 11.

Breeding schedule.--Four records of nesting span the period April 21 to May 30, but it is likely that the egg-season is longer than this.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs.