---
title: "What the sources say about the Red Kite | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "35 claims from the Red Kite profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/red-kite-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-kite/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Red Kite (*Milvus milvus*)

> 35 claims from the Red Kite profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Red Kite](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-kite/)

## Milvus milvus (red kite). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Milvus_milvus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| is endemic to the western Palearctic, in Europe and northwest Africa | Milvus milvus is endemic to the western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa. |
| wingspan between 175 and 195 centimetres (5.7 to 6.4 feet) | Their wingspan ranges from 175 to 195 cm and body length from 60 to 66 cm. (note: 5.7 to 6.4 feet converted from 175-195 cm) |
| Females are generally the larger sex, weighing 1 to 1.3 kilograms against a male's 0.8 to 1.2 kilograms | Females are generally larger ranging from 1000 to 1300 g in weight, males are 800 to 1200 g. (note: kg converted from g; 'generally' kept on the size difference) |
| they take rabbits, voles and field mice, along with birds, worms, insects and other invertebrates | They eat a wide variety of live prey, primarily small mammals such as rabbits, voles, and field mice, but also including birds, worms, and invertebrate prey. (note: ADW's Animal Foods list also names insects and terrestrial worms separately) |
| especially while raising young | they are also predators, especially during the breeding season when they must feed their young |
| Goshawks are the only known natural predator of an adult red kite | Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) are the only known natural predators of adult red kites. |
| When a predator appears, a female signals her fledglings to play dead, and they can fool a fox into leaving them, meaning to return for them later | At signs of predators females signal to her fledglings who "play dead," even to the extent that a fox will believe them to be dead and leave, thinking it can return to eat them later. |
| Red kites nest in large, mature trees, generally 10 to 15 metres up | Their only requirements are large, mature trees in which to build nests. Generally these nests are built 10 to 15 m above ground. |
| Large, mature trees for nesting across the western Palearctic (Europe and northwest Africa) | Milvus milvus is endemic to the western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa. (note: nest-tree requirement is the body's ADW nest claim) |

## Red Kite. BTO BirdFacts, British Trust for Ornithology.

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/red-kite

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest ringed red kite in BTO records reached 25 years and 8 months | Maximum age from a ringed bird 25 years, 8 months, 28 days (set in 2018) (note: days dropped from the quote's 25y 8m 28d for brevity) |
| Persecution drove red kites to the point of extinction in Britain | The Red Kite was persecuted to the point of extinction in Britain, just about hanging on in Wales |
| by the 1930s and 1940s fewer than ten breeding pairs remained, concentrated in a small part of mid-Wales | Red Kite was historically widespread across Britain but, following widespread persecution, fewer than ten breeding pairs remained by the 1930s and 1940s, concentrated into a small area of mid Wales. |
| the UK's breeding population grew by more than 2,600 percent between 1995 and 2024 | Population Change 2613% increase 1995 to 2024 (note: 2,613% floored to 'more than 2,600 percent'; same figure in the body and FAQ 2) |
| From fewer than ten pairs in mid-Wales in the 1930s and 1940s | fewer than ten breeding pairs remained by the 1930s and 1940s, concentrated into a small area of mid Wales |
| the UK breeding population was estimated at 4,400 pairs in 2016 | UK (breeding) 4400 pairs (2016) (note: the Key Stats '4,400 pairs' is this 2016 estimate, not a 2024 figure, so the page dates it) |
| it grew by more than 2,600 percent between 1995 and 2024 | Population Change 2613% increase 1995 to 2024 (note: 2,613% floored to 'more than 2,600 percent') |
| weightKg: 1.1 | Status Common Weight 1.1kg Eggs 2 (note: battleStats (settle #880)) |

## Red Kite. RSPB.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/red-kite

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Its long, deeply forked tail is distinctive | Distinctive long, deeply forked tail |
| when soaring the bird constantly adjusts the tail's angle to steer while barely moving its wings | When soaring they constantly adjust the angle of their tail to steer, while barely moving their wings. |
| Compared with many other birds of prey, red kites have relatively weak talons, so they mainly eat carrion and are often seen soaring over roads looking for roadkill | Compared to many other birds of prey, Red Kites have relatively weak talons, so they mainly feed on carrion and can often be seen soaring over roads looking for roadkill. |
| In Shakespeare's day, red kites were common even in cities, catching rodents and scavenging scraps of meat from the streets | Back in Shakespeare's day, Red Kites were really common, even in cities, where they acted as clean-up crews, catching rodents and scavenging on the scraps of meat that littered the streets. |
| By the end of the 19th century they were extinct in England, Scotland and Ireland | By the end of the 19th century, they were extinct in Scotland, England and Ireland, and just a few pairs were clinging on in Wales. |
| the UK is now home to about 13 percent of the world's red kites | The UK is now home to about 13% of the world's population. (note: current RSPB page (cites 1995-2023 trend); supersedes Natural England's 2020 figure of about 7%) |
| line their nests with wool, grass and twigs, but they also collect other objects that catch their eye. Nests have been found holding gloves, novelty sunglasses and cuddly toys | Red Kites nest in woodlands and like to line their nests with wool, grass and twigs, but they'll also collect other objects that catch their eye. Their nests have been found to contain all sorts of unusual items, from gloves and novelty sunglasses to cuddly toys. |
| One Scottish red kite lined its nest with underwear that skinny-dippers had left behind on a bank | In Scotland, one opportunistic Red Kite even lined its nest with underwear that had been left on a bank by skinny-dippers! |
| With its tail. While soaring, it keeps changing the tail's angle to steer, and the wings barely move. | When soaring they constantly adjust the angle of their tail to steer, while barely moving their wings. |
| in the UK now across much of Wales and central and eastern England | They're now found across much of Wales, and central and eastern England, as well as parts of northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. |
| Mostly carrion and roadkill, plus rabbits, voles, field mice, worms, and other invertebrates caught with relatively weak talons | Compared to many other birds of prey, Red Kites have relatively weak talons, so they mainly feed on carrion and can often be seen soaring over roads looking for roadkill. (note: the specific live-prey list (rabbits, voles, field mice, worms, invertebrates) is covered by the body's adw-red-kite claim) |
| A deeply forked tail it keeps angling to steer while soaring, barely moving its wings. | When soaring they constantly adjust the angle of their tail to steer, while barely moving their wings. |
| A deeply forked tail it steers with, relatively weak talons that keep it mostly on carrion, and an astonishing comeback in the UK. | Red Kites have made an astonishing comeback in the UK |
| When soaring it constantly adjusts the angle of its forked tail to steer, while barely moving its wings | When soaring they constantly adjust the angle of their tail to steer, while barely moving their wings. (note: vibe.reason (settle #880)) |

## Milvus milvus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Milvus_milvus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| one in captivity reached 38 | Maximum longevity 38 years (captivity) (note: current source, supersedes ADW's older captive record of 26 years) |

## A conservation success story: the reintroduction of red kites 30 years ago. Natural England.

https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2020/07/21/a-conservation-success-story-the-reintroduction-of-red-kites-30-years-ago

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In July 1990, two Welsh birds and eleven Spanish birds from Navarra were released in the Chiltern Hills | On 10th and 19th July 1990, two Welsh birds and 11 Spanish birds from the region of Navarra were released in the Chilterns Hills on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border. |
| With a sister project on Scotland's Black Isle and conservation work in Wales, those releases helped the population recover | these first releases in southern England, its sister release project on the Black Isle of Scotland and the ongoing conservation work in Wales have helped facilitate a fantastic population recovery |

## Westrip (2022). Milvus milvus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T22695072A210523277.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-1.rlts.t22695072a210523277.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Worldwide, the IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List, checked against taxon id 22695072 in the assessment DOI) |