So, if you rewind back to the 1950s or so, it certainly would have been rare to spot a Red Kite in the UK and some parts of Europe.įast forward back to the present day, and you probably wouldn’t think these birds were once extinct in England and Scotland. In addition to being killed as ‘vermin’ (as Red Kites are scavengers), egg collectors raided Red Kite nests for their large eggs. For example, the UK’s population was reduced to just a handful of breeding birds confined to Wales only. The European population of Red Kites plummeted by some 30% in the mid-19th-century. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird at maturity, the common raven averages 63. Red Kites were once ubiquitous across Europe but faced heavy persecution for the best part of 300 to 400 years. During the winter, Red Kites can be spotted around the eastern and southern coasts of England and western coasts of Wales. In central parts of England, Wales and Scotland, Red Kites are fairly common, and can be spotted all year round as they are residents. There is much more to learn about this gracious bird of prey - read on to find out! This elegant bird of prey has a uniquely forked tail and angular wings that give it a rakish silhouette.
#Red kite size full size#
Red Kites have become a flagship for bird conservation in the UK, where conservationists rescued the population from just a few breeding pairs in Wales to over 5,000 breeding pairs spread across much of the UK. Click on the thumbnail pictures below to see the full size photo. However, this wasn’t the case until around the 1990s when Red Kite populations sharply increased as a result of conservation efforts. This large raptor has become a hallmark bird of the Chiltern Hills and Home Counties, where you can spot them almost everywhere. They also inhabit parts of southern Scandinavia, northern Europe to Latvia, and eastern Europe to Ukraine. 95% of the Red Kite population lives in Europe, primarily in western and central Europe, with resident populations residing in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, and parts of Spain and Italy. Red Kites inhabit broadleaf deciduous woodlands but are adapting to semi-urban environments. Here, we’ll answer the question: where do Red Kites live? With a wingspan nearing 2m, these large birds are unmistakable when they graciously glide on calm winds, circling above fields, woodlands, and urban areas. Red Kites are magnificent raptors from the Accipitridae family. 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.
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