[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you see formations of pointed-winged birds sailing overhead, they may well be Mississippi kites, heading for their summer home in the Texas Panhandle.

This streamlined, falcon-shaped hawk has a wingspan of about three feet and is dark gray above and a paler gray below.  It has a long black tail and a whitish head.  Immature birds are heavily streaked and spotted.

Mississippi kites sail along effortlessly on hot-air thermals, occasionally swooping to catch an insect on the w...