Thank you for taking the time to meet our kite!
Mississippi kite: Ictinia mississipiensis
DOB: 2015 Sex: male Weight: 9 oz Wingspan: 30 in
Our Mississippi kite is a Colorado native, having been found in Lamar. Some time during the summer of 2015, this little guy lost his natural parents, perhaps in one of the summer wind and thunderstorms that the area is notorious for. He was reportedly kept illegally by at least two different people before being given to a local falconer in late September 2015. Heavily-imprinted with no fear of people whatsoever, he was then turned over to the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo, who thoroughly evaluated his condition and particularly his skeleton, since young raptors illegally raised in captivity often suffer nutritional deficits. Our colleagues there gave him a clean bill of health, and transferred him to us in November 2015. Our favorite summer pastime is catching grasshoppers to feed him!
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Mississippi Kite photos below by Jeff Wang. Jeff captured these amazing images from the Lamar, Colorado area. Note the rusty color saturation in the primaries, which is barely noticeable in our bird above. A wild diet of a variety of insects probably contributes to the beautiful coloration. The addition of the aggressive western kingbird makes this series of pictures prize winners! Below the series with the kingbird, Jeff has captured some beautiful portraits of another group of kites in the same area.
Click on images to enlarge
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