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Red Kite

Milvus milvus

Description:

Medium sized raptor of spectacular appearance, bigger than its 'Black' cousin (Black kite, Milvus migrans) or Buzzard, two more commonly seen raptors in our areas. It is mainly chestnut in colours, with distinctive pale grey, almost whitish, head. Below, well visible in flight, the Red Kite sports white 'windows' on wings, and pale tail. The tail is very long and deeply forked. The pale head and that deeply forked tail are main differences to distinguish it from Black Kite.

Habitat:

Here, observed above steep lower slopes of Jura mountain range, near canyon of Rhône. These slopes are rocky, presenting many steep cliffs and naked rock escarpments surrounded by mixed forest - mainly oak, beech, fir and spruce, and various deciduous shrubs and some meadows. These conditions represent the ideal ground for a breeding pair - as Oiseaux.net summarises: "The Red Kite has two requirements to be present as a breeder. Firstly, it needs very open spaces for sight hunting with ground capture. Nowadays it hunts mainly in agricultural areas, meadows, pastures and fields. For nesting it needs a forest habitat. A grove with old trees may be suitable, but it prefers to nest in a forest, not far from an edge, in a fairly open area with tall old trees, deciduous or coniferous, depending on altitude. On the plains, it will most often choose an old oak tree; and above 800m of altitude, a fir or beech tree. In winter, the habitat is mainly determined by the food resources. Waste dumps play an important role." (original article in French attached as reference beside)

Notes:

Not the best shots, I'm aware, but I'm posting them anyway, mainly because I don't manage to see these royal ('royal being a reference to it's French name: Royal Kite) beauties very often. They are considered common in France in general, and in Jura range and Lake Geneva valley in particular, but numbers of breeding pairs is in regular decline since 80s - mainly because of direct destruction (poisoning) or habitat destruction. The situation is apparently slightly improving since last decade; but the Oiseux.net says the following: "After a sharp decline in the 20th century, the species is in a poor position in the south of the range, e.g. in Spain, while it is expanding in the north where it is better protected. In Scandinavia, the bird is increasing strongly in southern Sweden and has become sedentary. The British Isles have recently become a stronghold for the species following a well-run conservation programme" (for the original article, in french - excellent article by the way, - please see references)

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Zlatan Celebic
Spotted by
Zlatan Celebic

Léaz, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Spotted on Mar 8, 2022
Submitted on Mar 8, 2022

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