No.303 · Birds · Uncommon
Red kite
Milvus milvus
A big rusty bird of prey with a pale head and a long forked tail it twists like a rudder. Down to a handful of pairs in mid Wales a century ago, it's now one of Britain's great comebacks.
When to see a red kite
All year, mostly by day.
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Time of day
- Dawn
- Day
- Dusk
- Night
Where to see a red kite in the UK
- The Pembrokeshire coast. Wales held on to the last British kites, and they're here over the farmland behind the cliffs.
Red kite facts at a glance
- Best time
- Any daylight hour, all year: soaring over farmland, towns and roads, best on a bright day.
- Where in the game
- Millbrook (farmland, grassland and park) and the Pembrokeshire coast (clifftop)
- Size
- Length 58–64 cm
- Wingspan
- About 1.8 m
- Weight
- About 1.1 kg (BTO)
- Lifespan
- Typically 4 years; the oldest ringed bird lived over 25 (BTO)
- Population
- About 4,400 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016), up 2,613% between 1995 and 2024
- Status
- Green (Birds of Conservation Concern)
Diet
Mainly carrion, plus worms, small mammals and birds.
Habitat
Woodland and countryside, and increasingly over towns.
Breeding
Usually starts nesting in March; lines the nest with wool, grass and twigs, and typically lays 2 eggs. Chicks fledge after 50–60 days.
Field signs
- A long, deeply forked tail that twists as it steers
- White patches under dark-tipped wings
- A rusty body and a pale head, often low over roads and towns
Did you know?
- Persecution left fewer than ten breeding pairs in mid Wales by the 1930s and 40s; farmers there were paid bounties by the RSPB for successful nests from 1922 to 1990 (BTO).
- Birds were released in the Chilterns and the Black Isle from 1989, then in Northamptonshire and beyond (BTO).
- From fewer than ten pairs to about 4,400, it's one of the UK's real conservation success stories (BTO).
Moments worth waiting for
- Soaring
It sails over on long bent wings, barely flapping, and the forked tail twists to steer.
Photo tip
Kites soar low over roads and gardens, so you often don't need much lens. Wait for one to bank towards you, with the sun on the rust of the tail.
Be a good naturalist
Stay well away from nests in spring: that's the law as well as good manners. Report any bird you find dead, as poisoning is a crime.
The law
Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it is an offence to disturb one at or near its nest. Illegal poisoning still holds them back in places.
