On 3 March 1990 at approximately 0645 hours a displaying Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) attracted me by its continuous calling. The bird was flying back and forth low over a small grove of Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), near the intersection of Point Reyes–Petaluma Road and Nicasio Valley Road in western Marin County, California. The kite was wing-fluttering, leg-dangling, and calling continuously, in a display that is best described as flutter flight. I then noticed another kite soaring above the calling bird. A third kite flew toward the soaring bird and the two birds locked talons, threw their wings back, and twirled slowly to earth from an estimated height of 100–150 feet (Figure 1). This behavior has been referred to as “grappling” (see Jaques 1973). A small rise prevented my seeing the birds below about 20 feet above the ground, when they were still engaged. One of the grappling birds reappeared above the rise and stooped once or twice on the other bird, which remained out of sight. The same two birds flew back up to about the same height and repeated the grappling four times before flying off, while the original kite continued its flutter flight.