Mississippi Kites

© Clay Billman

Published: September 26, 2011

An adult Mississippi Kite feeds its fledgling a cicada. Clay Billman of Stillwater, Oklahoma, took the photo in his in-laws' yard in Duncan, Oklahoma, in early August 2011 and posted it to our Backyard Gallery.

The species breeds from Arizona to Virginia and is found most often in woodlands and swamps.

"Oklahoma's record heat (and lack of rain) this summer was a big problem for a lot of Mississippi Kites statewide," Clay says. "Apparently, fledglings were fleeing the nest early just trying to get some water and relief. Luckily, this one was big enough to fly from branch to branch and had parents taking care of it."

Clay watched both adults make "several trips back and forth with cicadas, grasshoppers, and other plump bugs" to feed the fledgling. He shot the photo with a Nikon D200 and a 55-300mm lens. He posted more pictures of the kites on his Flickr page.

See more kites:
• Pair of Mississippi Kites
• Snail Kite
• White-tailed Kites attempting to pass a mouse in mid-air

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