Red kite
The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This family also has other raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers.
| Red Kite | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Milvus |
| Species: | M. milvus |
| Binomial name | |
| Milvus milvus | |
 | |
| Distribution map Cyan: resident; Green: breeding visitor | |
| Synonyms | |
Falco milvus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
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The species is found all over Europe and northwest Africa.[2] It is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey.[2]
Red kites eat small mammals and carrion. They were wiped out in most of Britain, except for a few in south Wales. Farmers killed them, and so did the DDT picked up from their prey. They have made a big come-back in England and Scotland after they were recently re-introduced.[3][4]
A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006.[5] In June 2006, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.[6]
References
