Breeding
The breeding season is usually July to November. The nest is a large untidy shallow cup of sticks usually in the foliage near the top of trees, some five metres (15 ft) or higher off the ground. It is lined with green leaves and other material such as regurgitated pellets. Multiple nests may be seen in single trees in cases of rodent plagues and hence abundance of food. The clutch consists of three to four, or rarely five or even six, dull white eggs measuring 44 x 32 mm with red-brown blotches and tapered oval in shape. The markings are often heavier around the larger end of the egg. The female incubates the eggs for 30 days, and nestlings remain in the nest for around 32 days.
Read more about this topic: Letter-winged Kite
Famous quotes containing the word breeding:
“Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.”
—Lillian Hellman (1905–1984)
“The surest route to breeding jealousy is to compare. Since jealousy comes from feeling “less than” another, comparisons only fan the fires.”
—Dorothy Corkville Briggs (20th century)
“The breeding we give young people is ordinarily but an additional self-love, by which we make them have a better opinion of themselves.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)