Red Kite
Milvus milvus
The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a common kites, old world vultures, eagles, and hawk found in 51 countries, weighing about 1.1 kg. The red kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers.
About the Red Kite
The red kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds only in Europe, though it formerly also bred in West Asia and Northwest Africa. Historically, it was only resident in the milder parts of its range in Western Europe and Northwestern Africa, whereas all or most red kites in Northern mainland Europe wintered to the south and west, some also reaching western Asia, but an increasing number of northern birds now remain in that region year-round. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel, Libya and the Gambia.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Red kites are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) long with a 175–195 cm (69–77 in) wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1,000–1,300 g (35–46 oz). It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail, twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly.
What the Red Kite sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Finland, Mauritania, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Faroe Islands, Jersey, Malta.
When to see it
The Red Kite can be seen all year round, with peak activity in May. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Red Kite?
- Red kites are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) long with a 175–195 cm (69–77 in) wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1,000–1,300 g (35–46 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Red Kite?
- The Red Kite is a large sized bird weighing about 1.1 kg.
- Where can you see a Red Kite?
- The Red Kite occurs in 51 countries, including Sweden, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- What does a Red Kite sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Red Kite on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Red Kite?
- The Red Kite is most easily confused with the Black Kite.
- Is the Red Kite endangered?
- The Red Kite is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Red Kite for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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