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Photo: Tony Mathews
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UK
Safari Tip:
Need help identifying birds? Probably the best value field guide is the
"Collins Bird Guide" which is available through Amazon.co.uk -
click
here
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Latin name: Milvus milvus
Size: Approximately 65cms. Wingspan approximately 195cms.
Distribution: Found in the valleys of Mid-Wales, the Chilterns, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire in England, and central and northern Scotland.
Months seen: All year round.
Food: Small mammals, birds, and carrion.
Habitat: Usually seen hunting over open hillsides and steep sided valleys.
Special features: Just a few decades ago the red kite population in the UK had been reduced to just a handful of birds. The last few birds were teetering on the brink of extinction in the valleys of Mid-Wales. As a result of a massive conservation program the population is now estimated at over 400 pairs.
They can be recognised in the air by the long forked tail, and white wing patches just inside of the black wing tips.
This head of a red kite is pale blue-grey with variable black streaking. Juveniles are generally paler in colour than the adults.
Despite their large size, a fully grown red kite only weighs around 1300g, allowing them to glide over long distances.
 Birds
sometimes appear with a lack of pigmentation in the feathers, like this semi-albino red kite. This is a result of the lack of gene stock.
 Click here for a
short video clip of a white red kite flying over hills in mid-Wales (1.3MB)
As part of the conservation of the red kites in Mid-Wales, there are feeding stations set up at a few locations. Originally this was to help the young kites survive through their first winter. There is now a healthy population in the area and the daily feeding has become a popular tourist attraction. It is not uncommon to see
several hundred birds together at feeding time.
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UK Safari Birds of Prey Section
UK Safari Birds Section
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