| isotope variations in white-tailed kites from various habitats in california: possible limitations in assessing prey utilization and population dynamics. | white-tailed kite (elanus leucurus) populations in the 1930s were close to extirpation in the united states. but by the 1940s, an upward trend towards recovery was apparent and continued to their current stable population levels. these dramatic fluctuations in kite numbers may have been related to changes in rodent prey populations due to the conversion of native habitats to agriculture. to address this question, we evaluated the use of stable isotope analysis in determining if a shift in diet c ... | 2003 | 12872807 |