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Articles

Vol. 9 No. 3 (1978)

NOTES: A WHITE-TAILED KITE BREEDING RECORD FOR OREGON

Submitted
September 1, 2025
Published
July 1, 1978

Abstract

A pair of nesting White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) was located on the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge 20 km south of Corvallis, Benton County, in the Willamette Valley in early March 1977. This is apparently the first confirmed nesting record for the species in Oregon (about 275 km north from California border), although there is considerable evidence that nesting occurred the previous year in the same vicinity. During an aerial waterfowl survey on 1 April 1977, an incubating bird was observed on the nest. Young were being fed on 11 April; however, when the nest was revisited on 9 May, three dead young (approximately 1 week old) and an addled egg remained. Heavy rains in mid-April may have caused the nesting attempt to fail.

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