Red kite (Milvus milvus)
Red kites have suffered rapid population declines due to habitat loss, pesticide usage and persecution. They usually pair for life building large nests out of sticks in the forks of tree branches. Females signal fledlings to play dead at the first signs of a predator. This mighty bird of prey is primarily a scavenger, and eats mostly carrion.
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Kite country Featured in the following TV programmes
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Living Britain: DEEPEST WINTER
Series celebrating wildlife year in Britain. 5/6 Autumn is a dramatic time of change - birds migrate,red stags rut,leaves change colour & fungi abound.
About the Red kite
The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just outside in northern Iran. It is a rare species which is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel and Libya.
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The Red kite is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Red kite is Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Red kite - Milvus milvus (arkive.org)
- Milvus milvus (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Birdguides: identification, sightings and articles (birdguides.com)
- The Hawk and Owl Trust on red kites (hawkandowl.org)
- IUCN Red List information (iucnredlist.org)
- RSPB fact file (rspb.org.uk)
- Red Kite (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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