Kites, Old World Vultures, Eagles, and Hawks
Red Kite
Milvus milvus
- Family
- Kites, Old World Vultures, Eagles, and Hawks (Accipitridae)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
Overview
The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds only in Europe, though it formerly also bred in West Asia and Northwest Africa. Historically, it was only resident in the milder parts of its range in Western Europe and Northwestern Africa, whereas all or most red kites in Northern mainland Europe wintered to the south and west, some also reaching western Asia, but an increasing number of northern birds now remain in that region year-round. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel, Libya and the Gambia.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cape Verde
- Chad
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Faroe Islands
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Palestine
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
- Western Sahara
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Red kite
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
