The Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a member of the family Accipitridae, a group of diurnal birds of prey. This is mostly a silent bird, but Mississippi Kite Call is normally a high-pitched two-syllable whistle. The adult Mississippi Kite sounds is a “pheee-phew” whistle. Their quick note is followed by a long one note that trails down in pitch.
Mississippi Kite sounds in a bit high pitch while flying or perched to publicize its presence, and uses a little emphatic version, once the predator is nearby. Therefore often invite other kites to join in for whistling alarm calls. The adult birds are falcon-shaped and look more like a falcon than any other of our kites, with light gray underparts, a dark gray dorsal surface, and a black unbarred tail.
Mississippi kites’ nests are found in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, southeastern Colorado, southern Kansas, and the eastern states from southern Missouri to South Carolina. These Kite birds migrate in the fall to their wintering grounds in central and southern tropical South America.
Mississippi kites are primarily insectivorous. Their preferred foods for insects that are harmful to crops, such as cicadas and grasshoppers, make them economically beneficial. Most insects are captured by kites in flight. Mississippi Kite birds supplement their diets with lizards, frogs, small turtles, rodents, small rabbits, and occasionally, small birds. Here you can listen to the call of the Mississippi Kite.
Read More – The Shy Great Potoo Bird Call
