A pair of birds native to South America, Florida and its neighboring coastal states have recently been spotted in Ohio.<\/p>\n
The swallow-tailed kite<\/a> and Mississippi kite join the likes of\u00a0white pelicans<\/a>,\u00a0American avocets<\/a>,\u00a0glossy ibises<\/a>,\u00a0roseate terns<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0black-bellied whistling-ducks<\/a> as rare visitors to the Buckeye State.<\/p>\n Photographers flocking to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park<\/a>, which covers 33,000 acres between Akron and Cleveland where the swallow-tailed kite was spotted, shared their images<\/a> of the bird on social media. Meanwhile, another photographer spotted a family of Mississippi kites<\/a> nesting in Summit County.<\/p>\n So where exactly were these unusual birds seen? Here’s what to know.<\/p>\n Where were swallow-tailed kite, Mississippi kite spotted in Ohio?<\/p>\n Photographers spotted the swallow-tailed kite in the Kendall Lake<\/a> area, off Truxell Road in northern Summit County, as well as the nearby Pine Hollow<\/a> area, off Quick Road, on Aug. 8 and 9.<\/p>\n Gabe Leidy Photography posted on Facebook<\/a> that the bird was putting on a show hunting dragonflies in the air. “There are few birds more striking or graceful in existence.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What is a swallow-tailed kite? Range, habitat, diet<\/p>\n 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>, 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.<\/p>\n The monochrome birds have a white head and body, with black feathers on their tail and along the edges of their wings.<\/p>\n They mainly eat flying insects, which they hunt and consume in the air. Adult birds rarely perch during the day, according to the website.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n All about the Mississippi kite. Migration, identification<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, nesting in treetops. They are highly aggressive to human intruders during breeding season.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n They spend their winters in South America and can be found along the Mississippi River as far north as Missouri and Illinois.<\/p>\n