The Mississippi kite is a medium-sized bird of prey, measuring about 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) in length, with a wingspan of approximately 3 feet (90 cm). Adult Mississippi kites are characterized by light grayish-blue plumage, with darker gray on the head and a pale underbelly.

Mississippi Kites are an inky mix of gray and black, lightening to pale gray-white on the head and in the secondaries of the wings. The wingtips and tail are black. Juveniles are streaky, with brownish chests and underwings, and banded tails.

One of our most graceful fliers, this kite glides, circles, and swoops in pursuit of large flying insects. Despite the name, it is most common on the southern Great Plains.

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. These sleek, pearly gray raptors often hunt together and nest colonially in stands of trees, from windbreaks on southern prairies to old-growth bottomlands in the Southeast ...

The Mississippi Kite is a fairly small raptor species native to the United States. Known for their elegant looks, especially on the flight, they are often seen gliding in a small group through the air in a particular area.

Long-winged raptor with narrow, pointed wings that help it maneuver to catch insects in flight. Gray overall with whitish head, white secondaries on upperside of wing, and black tail. Graceful in flight with fluid wingbeats and long glides. Prefers riparian woodlands; occasionally occurs close to humans in suburban areas.

The Mississippi kite is a beautiful, falcon-like bird whose body is an overall gray color and whose head is a lighter ashy gray. It has a completely black tail, deep red eyes, and yellow to red legs. In flight, this bird is smooth, graceful, and buoyant.

This small, pointed-winged kite looks more like a falcon than any other of our kites. A buoyant flier, it soars on flat wings, often high up in the air on thermals, catching and eating insects on...

Mississippi kites (Ictinia mississippiensis) are small birds of prey graceful in flight, often appearing to float in the air. Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...

Mississippi Kites are distinctive in plumage, flight style, and foraging behavior. They are amazing aerialists, floating on the air similar to Swallow-tailed Kite twisting, turning, and swooping up and down as they catch flying insects.