The Mississippi Kite is a slender, graceful raptor that is a rare but regular summer visitor to Arizona, primarily in the southeastern part of the state. Adults are pale gray with darker wingtips and a long, pointed tail, while juveniles are streaked brown above and heavily streaked below. These kites are adept aerial hunters, catching insects such as dragonflies and cicadas in flight, and they often perform buoyant, acrobatic glides over open areas. In Arizona, they are typically found in riparian corridors, agricultural lands, and open woodlands during their breeding season, with scattered nesting records in places like the San Pedro River Valley. Most individuals arrive in late spring, with numbers peaking in summer before migrating south to wintering grounds in South America.
