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 north-west Africa. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but birds from north-eastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey.
They are 60-70 cm long with a 175–179 cm wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200g and females 1,000–1,300g. 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. Older females, such as this one, have a whitening of the feathers on the head. Its call is a thin piping sound, similar to but less mewling than the common buzzard.
Their diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. They feed on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring.
As scavengers, red kites are particularly susceptible to poisoning. Illegal poison baits set for foxes or crows are indiscriminate and kill protected birds and other animals.
In the UK red kites were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and rubbish. Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to them stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season. In the mid-15th century King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.
By the 20th century the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young. In 1989 six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and a Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought from Germany to populate areas of Dumfries and Galloway. 94 birds were brought from the Chilterns and introduced into the Derwent Valley in north-east England between 2004 and 2006. In Northern Ireland 80 birds from wild stock in Wales were released over three years between 2008 and 2010, and in 2010 the first successful breeding was recorded. The reintroductions in the Chilterns have been a success. Between 1989 and 1993 90 birds were released in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and by 2002, 139 pairs were breeding there. Another successful reintroduction has been in Northamptonshire, which has become a stronghold for the red kite. Thirty Spanish birds were introduced into Rockingham Forest near Corby in 2000, and by 2010, the RSPB estimated that over 200 chicks had been reared from the initial release. So successful has the reintroduction been that 30 chicks have been transported from Rockingham Forest, for release in Cumbria.
A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006 and in June of that year, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.
In 1999 the red kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology. It has been unofficially adopted as the national bird of Wales.
In June 2010 the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project to release 90 red kites in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special licence issued by Natural England. The Grizedale programme will be the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final re-introduction phase in England.
As of July 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of Britain, and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.
Some of the best places to see them in the UK are Gigrin Farm near Rhayader, mid-Wales, where hundreds are fed by the local farmer as a tourist attraction, and the nearby Nant-Yr-Arian forest recreation centre in Ceredigion where the rare leucistic variant can be seen. In the England, the Oxfordshire part of the Chilterns has many red kites, especially near Henley-on-Thames and Watlington, where they were introduced on John Paul Getty's estate. They can also be seen around Harewood near Leeds where they were re-introduced in 1999. - extracted from Wikipedia.
This captive bird was displayed in the wild meadow at the Hawk Conservancy near Andover, Hants.
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 north-west Africa. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but birds from north-eastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey.
They are 60-70 cm long with a 175–179 cm wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200g and females 1,000–1,300g. 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. Older females, such as this one, have a whitening of the feathers on the head. Its call is a thin piping sound, similar to but less mewling than the common buzzard.
Their diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. They feed on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring.
As scavengers, red kites are particularly susceptible to poisoning. Illegal poison baits set for foxes or crows are indiscriminate and kill protected birds and other animals.
In the UK red kites were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and rubbish. Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to them stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season. In the mid-15th century King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.
By the 20th century the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young. In 1989 six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and a Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought from Germany to populate areas of Dumfries and Galloway. 94 birds were brought from the Chilterns and introduced into the Derwent Valley in north-east England between 2004 and 2006. In Northern Ireland 80 birds from wild stock in Wales were released over three years between 2008 and 2010, and in 2010 the first successful breeding was recorded. The reintroductions in the Chilterns have been a success. Between 1989 and 1993 90 birds were released in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and by 2002, 139 pairs were breeding there. Another successful reintroduction has been in Northamptonshire, which has become a stronghold for the red kite. Thirty Spanish birds were introduced into Rockingham Forest near Corby in 2000, and by 2010, the RSPB estimated that over 200 chicks had been reared from the initial release. So successful has the reintroduction been that 30 chicks have been transported from Rockingham Forest, for release in Cumbria.
A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006 and in June of that year, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.
In 1999 the red kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology. It has been unofficially adopted as the national bird of Wales.
In June 2010 the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project to release 90 red kites in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special licence issued by Natural England. The Grizedale programme will be the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final re-introduction phase in England.
As of July 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of Britain, and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.
Some of the best places to see them in the UK are Gigrin Farm near Rhayader, mid-Wales, where hundreds are fed by the local farmer as a tourist attraction, and the nearby Nant-Yr-Arian forest recreation centre in Ceredigion where the rare leucistic variant can be seen. In the England, the Oxfordshire part of the Chilterns has many red kites, especially near Henley-on-Thames and Watlington, where they were introduced on John Paul Getty's estate. They can also be seen around Harewood near Leeds where they were re-introduced in 1999. - extracted from Wikipedia.
This captive bird was displayed in the wild meadow at the Hawk Conservancy near Andover, Hants.