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Bird

Mississippi Kite

Ictinia mississippiensis

A summer resident that nests in Florida. Found in 36 of 67 counties, across 9 habitats.

Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
36 of 67 counties
Habitats
9

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
36 of 67 counties
Habitats
9
Habitat models
Summer

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 9

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 9

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin SwampRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; Central Florida Pine Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
SummerBeside its main habitat.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
SummerBeside its main habitat.Open Water (Fresh)Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerBeside its main habitat.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field
Other habitats in its models (49)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida.

  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Recently Burned Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

  • Summer: nests here, in 36 of 67 counties.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 449

Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in Florida. Shared habitat, not food.

Wildlife 279

Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in Florida. Not sighting records.

NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources