Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Size
60 - 70 cm
Wingspan: 185 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Wooded valleys adjacent to areas of farmland or open country.

Range (Guide)

Albania (B), Algeria (E), Austria, Belarus (B), Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Bulgaria (NB) (P), Cape Verde (E), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Czech Republic (B) (NB) (P), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Egypt (E), France (B) (NB) (P), Georgia (B), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Gibraltar, Greece (E), Hungary (B) (NB), Iran [Islamic Republic of], Italy (B) (NB) (P), Latvia (B), Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania (B), Luxembourg (B) (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Morocco, Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), Poland (B), Portugal (B) (NB), Romania (B) (P), Russia (European) (B), Serbia (B) (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia (NB), Spain (B) (NB) (P), Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Tunisia (E), Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan, Ukraine (B), United Kingdom (B) (NB).

Vagrant to Armenia, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Gambia (E), Iceland, India, Iraq (NB), Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Malta, Mauritania, Nepal, Norway, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 42,000 - 51,000 (2010) and decreasing.

Status NT
Destruction of habitat and poisoning are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Carrion, invertebrates such as voles, mice, rats, rabbits and birds.

Voice
A shrill, quavering 'weoo-weoo-weoo'.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (173)...)

Red Kite (Milvus milvus) [XC576967]
by Olivier SWIFT from Siselen, Erlach, Bern, Switzerland (song)

Red Kite (Milvus milvus) [XC184697]
by Leszek Matacz from Dahme-Spreewald (near Heidesee), Brandenburg, Germany (call)

Nest
A platform of sticks and mud, in a tree.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; white; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 29 days; by female.

Subspecies
Milvus milvus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Red Kite (Milvus milvus) and Cape Verde Kite (Milvus fasciicauda) by Hazevoet (1995), but for reasons given in Johnson et al. (2005) this treatment has not been adopted by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.

Subspecies fasciicauda may be distinct species. Hybridizes with Black Kite (Milvus migrans).

The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Southern Sweden east to Ukraine and south through central Europe to western and central Mediterranean Basin; Wales; Caucasus. Formerly Canary Is.
fasciicauda Hartert, 1914 - Cape Verde Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Cape Verde Kite (Milvus fasciicauda).

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Red Kite (Milvus milvus) - 10 files

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