
The adult Mississippi Kite sounds is a pheee-phew whistle. This is mostly a silent bird, but Mississippi Kite Call is normally a high-pitched two-syllable whistle. Mississippi kites are active during the day and are most often seen on the wing. During migration, they may also gather in mixed flocks containing up to 10,000 birds. They do not maintain territories and prefer to migrate in groups of 20 to 30 birds. May is the month I associate with this kite becoming a common sight in the western two-thirds of Oklahoma. Mississippi kites are social birds, gathering in roosts in late summer. This gives kites a more buoyant looking flight. The Mississippi kite ( Ictinia mississippiensis) is a member of the family Accipitridae, a group of diurnal birds of prey. The Mississippi Kite is a nesting bird in Oklahoma, one of the late returners from its wintering grounds to the south. They have a similar wingspan and body length, but weigh 1/3 that of falcons.

They will also eat amphibians, reptiles, bats, birds, and small mammals. Like toy kites, these smoky black and gray birds seem to defy gravity, drifting on air currents and scanning for prey.


Size: Mississippi Kites are 12-17 inches long, have a wingspan of 3-3 1/2 feet, and weigh 7-13 ounces.ĭiet: These kites eat mostly insects that they catch in flight and consume on the wing. The Mississippi Kite is an uncommonly graceful and elegant raptor. Oklahoma Birds Listserv and Photo Directoryĭistribution: Mississippi Kites are found through parts of southeastern and central United States and are known to migrate to central South America.It is unusual among Tennessees raptors in that it mostly. Nesting Ecology of Prairie-Edge Birds on Roadsides The Mississippi Kite makes a streamlined silhouette as it careens through the sky on the hunt for small prey, or dive-bombs intruders that come too close to its nest tree. The Mississippi Kite is an extremely graceful, long-winged raptor found in far West Tennessee.Report of Lesser Prairie-Chicken Observations.City of Bartlesville – Pathfinder Parkway Bird Trail.
