Theresa Wiorinen, age 11, of St. Paul, Minnesota, for her question:

 What kind of bird is the kite?

The name was borrowed for the kite on a string which gives you some idea of his grace¬ful performance in the air. There are Old World and New World kites but, sad to say, most types are declining in numbers. The elegant aviators are classified in the toyai family of the eagle. Actually, they are rather large and very slender hawks. In flight, they are fast and their wheeling and soaring, plunging and diving maneuvers are superb. But nobody can have everything. Their claws tend to be weak, especially those of the Old World kites, who often make a living as scavengers.

Our remaining New World kites. .prefer to dine on live bug and reptile meat. Some of them have elegant forked tails and look for all the world like giant swallows. In the past, they ranged over much of North America. The swallow tailed and the blue grey Ever¬ glades Kites are now limited mostly to Florida. The lead grey kite still lives in the Mis¬sissippi Valley and the white tailed kite is a native Californian.