mississippi kite bird attacks yukon oklahoam

The male and female both work on nest building, often at a leisurely pace, spending a few days to a few weeks on the project. They sometimes rebuild and reuse old nests, or build on squirrel nests. In the Great Plains they use isolated trees and groves. In the East, they prefer old-growth trees in large stands. Mississippi Kites nest in almost any tree species, as low as a few feet off the ground to more than 115 feet high. They may snag insects flushed by bison, people, horses, deer, and fire, and may scavenge roadkill. Sometimes they forage on foot amid low vegetation, or even in shallow water. With acrobatic maneuvers they extend one or both feet to grab prey from the air or from trees, shrubs, tall plants, and other objects on the ground, and they often eat their prize while still flying. Often seen hunting in the company of other kites, they search for prey while soaring over woodlands, water, farmland, pasture, prairie, or (less frequently) from an exposed perch. Mississippi Kites feed on medium-sized and large insects-such as beetles, leafhoppers, and grasshoppers-along with a variety of frogs, toads, lizards, turtles, snakes, small birds, terrestrial mammals, and bats. Their South American wintering habitat is undocumented. During migration they travel through forest, savannah, pasture, dry plains, cropland (corn, coffee, and sugarcane), human-inhabited areas, and scrub habitat. Since the 1970s many western pairs have also nested in urban areas such as city parks and golf courses. Other woody plants in their nesting habitat include plum and juniper. In the Southwest and central plains, they nest in windbreak plantings within shortgrass and mixed prairie, in oak and mesquite savannah, and in cottonwoods and salt cedars lining rivers. East of the Mississippi River, they nest in mature, diverse, low-lying forest-especially tracts that are large and unbroken but have nearby open habitat, such as pasture, cropland, waterways, country roads, or small lakes. Mississippi Kites breed in scattered areas of the southern and central United States, using very different habitats depending on the region.

Mississippi kite bird attacks yukon oklahoam