A pair of birds native to South America, Florida and its neighboring coastal states have recently been spotted in Ohio.
The swallow-tailed kite and Mississippi kite join the likes of white pelicans, American avocets, glossy ibises, roseate terns and black-bellied whistling-ducks as rare visitors to the Buckeye State.
Photographers flocking to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which covers 33,000 acres between Akron and Cleveland where the swallow-tailed kite was spotted, shared their images of the bird on social media. Meanwhile, another photographer spotted a family of Mississippi kites nesting in Summit County.
So where exactly were these unusual birds seen? Here’s what to know.
Where were swallow-tailed kite, Mississippi kite spotted in Ohio?
Photographers spotted the swallow-tailed kite in the Kendall Lake area, off Truxell Road in northern Summit County, as well as the nearby Pine Hollow area, off Quick Road, on Aug. 8 and 9.
Gabe Leidy Photography posted on Facebook that the bird was putting on a show hunting dragonflies in the air. “There are few birds more striking or graceful in existence.”
As to the location of the Mississippi kite, Jen Marie Photography was not specific. According to the Facebook post, the family of kites is nesting in a Summit County neighborhood.
What is a swallow-tailed kite? Range, habitat, diet
In the United States, swallow-tailed kites can be found from coastal South Carolina and Georgia, throughout Florida and around the Gulf Coast to Louisiana, according to All About Birds, a product of Cornell Labs. Their range continues through Mexico and Central America. They breed in North and Central America, and spend their winters in South America.
The monochrome birds have a white head and body, with black feathers on their tail and along the edges of their wings.
They mainly eat flying insects, which they hunt and consume in the air. Adult birds rarely perch during the day, according to the website.
Swallow-tailed kites breed in swamps, lowland forests, and marshes, needing tall trees to nest and open areas full of small prey to feed their young.
All about the Mississippi kite. Migration, identification
Like their cousins, Mississippi kites also breed in an area from South Carolina, Georgia, the panhandle of Florida and across the Gulf Coast to Louisiana, according to All About Birds, nesting in treetops. They are highly aggressive to human intruders during breeding season.
The birds are gray with a pale head, and juveniles have a banded tail and mottled-looking wings. They feed mostly on medium and large insects like beetles and grasshoppers.
They spend their winters in South America and can be found along the Mississippi River as far north as Missouri and Illinois.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Florida birds make rare Ohio visit. See the photos
Reporting by Chad Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chad Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
