Kites: Birds of Glory As a rule, raptors, or birds of prey, are among the most admired and adored birds in the world. From the California condor to the snowy owl, few birds compare to the tigers of the air: the great hunters whose beauty and skill have inspired art and literature for centuries. The most glorious feathers of the peacock or the vibrant plumage of a bunting cannot compete with the power of a peregrine falcon or the determination of an osprey. Included in this group of hunters, however, is one bird of prey that is little known but equally impressive. The kites of the world are generally smaller than most raptors, but just as astonishing in skill and grace as any other hunter of the skies.

Most people think of paper or cloth structures flown with string from the ground when the word 'kite' is used. In addition to these popular toys, kite can also refer to a type of raptor. Kites have a small head, a short beak and long narrow wings and tail. Kites can be found all over the world in mostly warm regions. Kites live on a variety of prey—from insects to small rodents or reptiles. Some kites eat only one kind of prey. Kites are generally masterful in the air and represent a group of birds that are among the most acrobatic of fliers.

Two of the most familiar kites in the Southern United States are the swallow-tailed kite and the Mississippi kite. The Mississippi kite is rather plain to look at: a light brown and gray body with a buff or white colored head. But to watch a Mississippi kite fly is to watch a ballet in the air. These raptors eat primarily flying insects, so they do most of their hunting on the wing. As you might imagine, catching flying insects requires a great deal of agility and speed. If you are lucky enough to see one in flight, you will be amazed at the quick turns, graceful moves, and speedy pursuits of this bird. Look for them above large fields, especially during the summer.

The swallow-tailed kite, also common in the South, is more easily identifiable and often seen flying over roads. With black wings and tail, white head and body, and a forked or swallow-like tail, this raptor is just as acrobatic as the Mississippi kite. Swallow-tailed kites like flying over highways in the summer as they can take advantage of the thermals, or columns of warmed air, that rise above the pavement. Once they have climbed to sufficient height, swallow-tails will glide, looking for snakes and reptiles and insects. They also eat small rodents, frogs, and other birds on occasion. Watching a swallow-tail fly is a lot like watching a gymnast perform a floor routine. Rarely flapping its wings, it uses its forked tail to make sharp turns, trace circles in the sky, or simply maintain a heading. Skilled, accomplished, and graceful, this bird is as entertaining as it is beautiful.

Both kites are known to eat while flying, unlike most other birds of prey. This practice conserves energy and allows them to hunt almost continuously. While these kites are not listed as endangered, they are rare and in some states are listed as critical. Loss of habitat is the main reason for the decline. If you are lucky enough to see one, count yourself among the few. These magnificent birds are a sight you won't soon forget.

Based on this article, how would you describe kites to someone who has never seen one? Use details and quotations from the text to support your answer. (5 points)

[he] let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet. a piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes followed it down the current. how slowly it appeared to move! what a sluggish stream! what contrasting words are used to describe the stream in this passage?

Monsters of the deep the ocean is full of mysteries and amazing creatures. since the first sailors left their home shores and set off for adventure, stories have been told of the strange and wondrous beasts encountered on the open ocean. with only glimpses and imagination-enhanced stories to go on, humans have made many an interesting creature into a monster. the truth is, the ocean's scariest creatures inhabit such extreme depths that humans are rarely, if ever, threatened by them. that does not mean they are not the stuff of nightmares. consider, if you will, the following frightful fiends. atlantic hagfish part eel, part sea snake, this sea serpent may have inspired many stories. lacking the scales that most fish have, the hagfish secretes the most amazing slime to protect itself. this slime may be used to suffocate predators. the slime includes small fibers that make it almost impossible to remove. but the hagfish's truly horrific nature lies in what it does to its prey, not its predators. with an excellent sense of smell that compensates for almost total blindness, the hagfish will locate and latch on to a victim. with a circle of razor sharp teeth, the hagfish bores a hole into the side of its now-doomed prey. once the hole is complete, the hagfish just welcomes itself inside for a meal of fish innards. it essentially eats its prey from the inside out. like other deep-sea monsters, however, hagfish are seldom a nuisance to humans. they live most of their lives at depths of up to 5,600 feet. in fact, they prefer a soft sea bottom so they can quickly bury themselves to hide from threats. gulper eel another, more hideous, fiend of the deep is the gulper eel. this creepy critter is part eel and part giant pouch. like a pelican's enormous pouch-shaped mouth, the mouth of the gulper eel can open quite wide to gulp prey. it has a long tail tipped with a glowing organ that is used to lure in prey. in part to its tail, the gulper can reach up to six feet in length. because its tail is so thin, it is not able to pursue prey with any speed, but it can scoop up hundreds of small crustaceans or shrimp in one bite. often swimming through these prey groups with its mouth wide open, its large jaws allow it to feed on squid and other creatures much larger than itself. gulper eels have only been studied because they sometimes get caught in the nets of fishermen. the depths they inhabit make it quite difficult for scientists to study them. they can go as deep as 6,000 feet, well beyond the abilities of humans to pursue them. vampire squid perhaps the most frightening of the deep-sea monsters is also the smallest. the vampire squid reaches lengths of only six inches. it is also one of the most ancient of the deep-sea monsters. scientists believe it to be the last surviving member of its order. to see the vampire squid is to wonder how many kinds of sea creatures have been mashed into this one odd-looking spook. part squid, part octopus, and part fish, the vampire squid has features of all of these. first, it has large fins at the top of its head that look like ears. flapping like dumbo, the squid uses these fins to get around. it also has tentacles and a large bulbous head like an octopus. its arms, however, are connected by webbing that allows it to form a cloak around itself when frightened. like the octopus, it can change its colors, even making its cloak so dark that it appears invisible. remarkably, it has the largest eyes compared to its body size of any creature on earth. despite its mere six-inch length, its eyes are as big as those of a large dog. with its glowing orbs of eyes and its disappearing tricks, it's no wonder it's named after one of the most feared creatures of legends and folklore: the vampire. these creatures make one wonder not just about the odd members of the deep-sea community, but also what mysterious things inhabit the regions never visited by humans. what may be lurking in the deepest, darkest corners of the deep blue seas? one thing we know for certain, much like the outrageous monsters we conjure in our worst nightmares, the deep ocean is an equally imaginative source of shock, awe, and outright fright. what are the key differences between the atlantic hagfish and the gulper eel? use details and quotations from the text to support your answer.

Ineed to write a write a 4–5 paragraph compare and contrast essay that addresses how anne frank matures over the course of writing her diary.it's also a compare and contrast essayi just got put into this new class and i don't know if we were supposed to already be reading and the essay is due today and i haven't even started it nor read the book, someone me what do i do