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| Length | 60-66cm | 23-26" |
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| Wingspan | 175-195cm | 69-77" |
| Weight | 760-1600g | 27-56oz |
The toy kite is named after the bird (not the other way round).
Distinctive forked tail in flight. Long angled wings (wingspan ~6ft), can stay in air long time, with minimal beats of the wing, especially when soaring in thermals. Very manoeuvrable in the air.
Relatively short legs & weak feet. Eat a lot of carrion - gives reputation of killing large animals - in practice largest prey is young rabbits.
Patterning is extremely uniform, making individuals difficult to identify.
Legally protected during the early middle-ages, because of it would clear human refuse from around towns & cities. Declared vermin (possibly due to also preying on domestic fowl), by UK Government acts in 16th century, & decision made to kill all of them throughout England & Wales. By late 18th century, all had been killed in England (also Scotland), & few pairs survived in Mid-Wales (Twyi & Cothi valleys). In the late 19th century, J.H.Salter, a professor of Botany at Aberystwyth University & a group of landowners & individuals set up an unofficial protection programme, which over a hundred years, maintained the small population. The low point of the population in the UK was between 1931 & 1935, where only two of the eleven pairs in Wales successfully bred. In 1997 the estimated world population was around 20,000 breeding pairs, with 230 pairs being in Great Britain (the majority - 145 - in Wales). Currently there are around 200 breeding pairs in Wales. There is a release program to various sites in England - the kites usually are from Spain or Sweden. Red Kites are mainly under threat from illegal killing, both by shooting & poisoning, & from egg-collectors. The Red Kite is a species protected by special penalties in the UK, if kept in captivity, it must be ringed & registered.
Rarely land - make rapid descents & snatch food whilst still flying. The are able to transfer the food to their beaks & eat in flight. Some may snatch food from crows & ravens in mid-air.
Longevity : oldest known (ringed) wild bird - 25yrs 8mnths
Least Concern (LC)
| English |
Bleria Pyttel (Old English for "Bald Hawk", also used for Osprey) Puttock (also used for Buzzard & Marsh Harrier, possibly derived from Pyttel, Puttock is often used to refer to a greedy person) ) | ||
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| Welsh |
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| Scottish |
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| Irish |
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| Catalan |
Milà reial | ||
| Danish |
Rød glente | ||
| Dutch |
Rode wouw | ||
| Esperanto |
Ru^ga milvo | ||
| Estonian |
Puna-harksaba | ||
| Finnish |
Isohaarahaukka | ||
| French |
Milan Royal | ||
| German |
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| Greek |
Ψαλιδιάρης | ||
| Hungarian |
Vörös kánya | ||
| Icelandic |
Svölugleða | ||
| Italian |
Nibbio reale | ||
| Latvian |
Sarkanā Klija | ||
| Lithuanian |
Rudasis Peslys | ||
| Norwegian |
Glente | ||
| Polish |
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| Portuguese |
Milhano | ||
| Romanian |
Gaie Roşie | ||
| Russian |
Красный
Коршун (Krasny Korshun) | ||
| Spanish |
Milano real | ||
| Swedish |
Röd glada |