Swallow-tailed Kite

Swallow-tailed Kite records for Illinois

northern Illinois
March 29, 1905, Highland Park, Lake County (specimen - CAS 15124) (Elmer Evans) (IORC 1905.001) (MJIB 12:2:57)
     Woodruff (1907) Cory (1909) Ford, Sanborn and Coursen (1934) Smith and Parmalee (1955) Ford (1956) Smith (1958, 1972)
     and Bohlen (1978) cite this record April 1905. Coale (1912) Bohlen (1989) and IORC (2003) give the correct date of March 29, 1905.
     Coale (1912) mentions three specimens taken, but only one remains in the CAS collection.
May 5, 1917, Rockford, Winnebago County (NSSR 1917-18) (Bohlen 1978)
May 9, 2007, Lake Forest, Lake County (David Wiechers) (pending IORC review) (MJIB 16:4:146)
May 16, 1991, Rockford, Winnebago County (Jeff Donaldson) (IBB 7:4:94)
June 5, 1895, Lake Villa, Lake County (specimen) (J. Grafton Parker) (Woodruff 1907) (Cory 1909) (Coale 1912)
     (Ford, Sanborn and Coursen 1934) (Smith and Parmalee 1955) (Ford 1956) (Smith 1958, 1972) (Bohlen 1989)

central Illinois
May 7-10, 1982, Rice Lake, Fulton County/Sand Ridge SF, Mason County (Richard Sandburg) (IORC 1982.003; RB, TP, LA) (IBB 6:1:10)
     May 7, 1982, Rice Lake, Fulton County (Richard Sandburg) (IAB 202:41) (AB 36:858) (Bohlen 1989)
     May 8, 1982, Sand Ridge SF, Mason County (Richard Bjorklund)
     May 10, 1982, Rice Lake, Fulton County (Richard Sandburg)
May 20, 1974, Lodge Park, Piatt County (Alexa Clemens, George Kulesza) (Champaign County ASN 9:4) (Bohlen 1978) (Bohlen 1989)
June 6, 2004, Versailles Township, Brown County (Tharran Hobson) (IORC 2004.048; TH) (MJIB 14:1:28) (MJIB 15:2:58)
June 1906, Salt Creek, DeWitt County (Edwin Hull) (Auk 30:112) (Smith and Parmalee 1955) (Bohlen 1978) (Bohlen 1989)
August 23, 2007, Virden, Macoupin County (IBET)
circa 1870, Peoria area (Frederick Brendel) (Brendel 1870) (MJIB 5:1:18-19)
circa 1892, Pekin, Tazewell County (specimen) (William Loucks) (Loucks 1892) (Bohlen 1989)
circa 1892, Fulton County (nesting) (William Loucks) (Loucks 1892) (Bohlen 1989)

southern Illinois
June 12, 2004, New Athens-Darmstadt Road, St. Clair County (Tom May) (IORC 2004.050; TM) (MJIB 14:1:28) (MJIB 15:2:58)
summer 1871, Fox Prairie, Richland County (Robert Ridgway) (American Naturalist 7:197-203) (Ridgway 1889) (Cory 1909)
     early summer 1871, Fox Prairie, Richland County (pair) (Robert Ridgway) (George 1968) (Bohlen 1978) (Bohlen 1989)
     August 1871, Fox Prairie, Richland County (full-grown young) (Robert Ridgway)
summer 1875, Cairo, Alexander County (numerous) (Edward Nelson) (BEI 9:32-65)
August 1, 1870, Mt. Carmel, Wabash County (specimen - USNM) (Robert Ridgway) (Ridgway 1889) (Cory 1909)
     (Mengel 1965) (Robinson 1996) (Bohlen 1989)
August 23-25, 2008, Carbondale, Jackson County (fide Vicki Lang) (IBET)
     August 23, 2008, Carbondale, Jackson County (2) (Rhonda Rothrock)
     August 24, 2008, Carbondale, Jackson County (2) (Joel Greenberg, Bruce Heimer, Tim Kuesel, Andy Sigler, Craig Taylor)
     August 24, 2008, Carbondale, Jackson County (2) (Leroy Harrison, Dan Kassebaum, Travis Mahan, Keith McMullen, Don Mullison, Mark Seiffert)
     August 25, 2008, Carbondale, Jackson County ( Rhonda Rothrock)

Carbondale, Jackson County
August 24, 2008 photo - Travis Mahan

Historical comments:
Kennicott (1854) "Known to nest in Cook County". "Though once common, this fine bird is now rare. It is still found in the middle of the state."
Nelson (1876) "I can testify to its scarcity at present, only two or three instances of its occurrence in this vicinity within the last twenty years having been ascertained."
Cory (1909) "The Swallow-tailed Kite is more or less common in Illinois and casual in Wisconsin".

Unaccepted records:
August 4, 2000, Oakwood Township, Vermilion County (IORC 2000.039; unaccepted) (MJIB 10:2:57)

St. Louis County, MO
September 13, 1878, Baden, St. Louis County (specimen - WU) (Julius Hurter) (Bohlen 1989)
The location for this record is almost certainly Baden, St. Louis County, Missouri.
New Baden, Clinton County, IL or Baden Baden, Bond County, IL are remotely possible as Hurter did collect in Illinois within traveling distance of St. Louis.

IORC Checklist of Illinois Birds Index