While the Red Kite was previously listed as “Near Threatened” by BirdLife International, due to a strong population decline at the end of the last century, the Red Kite has been reclassified as “Least Concern” more recently. The Red Kite population in the UK is largely sedentary. The migrating Red Kite populations from northern Europe winter in southern Europe. The Red Kite is a partial migratory bird, with its northernmost populations being entirely migratory, while populations in central Europe are largely migratory, and populations in southern Europe are sedentary. After hatching, the young kites stay in the nest for up to 38 days, and continue to be fed up to four weeks by their parents after fledging. The female lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated for up to 34 days. Sometimes nests in small colonies that can also include Black Kite pairs. If no forests are available, it can also nest in small groups of trees in open countryside. The Red Kite builds a large stick nest on old deciduous trees, usually at the forest edge, or within 100 meters of it.
It catches small animal species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, as well as insects, and in addition to live prey it also takes carrion all year round, and is often found at roadkills. The Red Kite is extremely flexible in terms of what food sources it takes. It also hunts from a perch, and steals food from other raptors or herons (the scientific term for this is kleptoparasitism). The Red Kite most often searches for prey by soaring on thermal currents (which is why it often has a preference for hill country). On the other hand, many populations of Red Kites have been increasing more recently, and hence it will require intense study and monitoring to determine the current population size of this elegant raptor species. However, this might be an overestimate, since there has been a significant decline in the population of Red Kites in Spain, which used to be one of the largest populations in Europe. The population of the Red Kite in Europe is estimated to be between 19,000 and 25,000 breeding pairs by BirdLife International. Apart from this, it occurs in a wide range of landscapes, including low country as well as in hills and low altitude mountainous regions. The Red Kite prefers open landscapes with low vegetation for foraging, and in addition requires forests or small groups of large trees for nesting. The population in the UK has grown due to successful reintroduction programs conducted in Scotland and England. Its northernmost populations breed in the southern parts of Scandinavia. The Red Kite is found from the UK and Spain in the west, to Poland and Ukraine in the east. The global population of Red Kites is almost entirely located within Europe, which makes it different from the other European raptors that have parts of their distribution range outside of Europe. The closest relative of the Red Kite in Europe is the Black Kite (Milvus migrans), with which it can hybridize. It is monotypic (meaning there are no known subspecies). The scientific name of the Red Kite is Milvus milvus. LifespanĪ maximum age of 30 years has been recorded in the wild, as well as 38 years in captivity. In other words, a small female Red Kite can be the same size as a large male. Similar to most birds of prey in Europe, female Red Kites are larger than males, but there is a considerable size overlap between the two genders.
Red Kites gathered around carrion Sexual dimorphism