I agree with Ardith and others that the onus now is on finding photos that definitively show a band - after all, these must already be some of the most photographed Mississippi Kites in history! Usually it's the other way around, birds are reported as being unbanded until someone looks more closely at pictures and sees different.
Although I am not advocating this as an explanation here, it is worth remembering that nesting Mississippi Kites will tolerate a 'helper', usually a subadult. Multiple observers stated that the pair that nested in Root (Montgomery Co) were joined at times by a third bird. Apparently this cooperative behavior is especially common at the northern edges of the range were conditions may not be optimal. NYSARC has received a couple of reports on the kites but I would have expected (hoped for) a few more considering the hundreds of people who've been to see them so far. The next stage in documentation will be to obtain evidence of egg laying, chicks etc. One last thing, looking at the picture sent by Steve Sachs (BTW a no-no on this list), I was struck by how thin the legs look on the left hand bird (female?) compared to the right hand bird. Is this due to the angle or a genuine difference? Cheers, Angus Wilson New York City/Springs -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
