A - Z Garden Bird Identification Index
(Milvus milvus)
The Red Kite is one of Britain’s great wildlife success stories. Once persecuted to the brink of extinction, it has made a dramatic recovery thanks to conservation and reintroduction projects. Today, these fork-tailed raptors are a familiar sight once again, circling effortlessly over fields, villages, and motorways alike.
Identification
What does a Red Kite look like?
Length: 62 cm
Wingspan: up to 175 cm
At a glance, Red Kites can be mistaken for Buzzards, but their slimmer build, long angled wings, and distinctive forked tail set them apart. Their body is a rich reddish-brown, streaked with darker tones, while the head is pale grey with dark streaks and piercing pale eyes. Their beak is yellow with a dark hook. In sunlight, their plumage glows a rusty red, making them unmistakable in the sky.
What does a Red Kite sound like?
Their call is a shrill, plaintive “wee-oo-wee-oo-wee-oo”, higher pitched and quicker than a Buzzard’s. In spring, they also give a drawn-out, wailing cry that carries across valleys and woodlands.
How long do Red Kites live?
Typically around 4 years in the wild, though many live much longer. The record is an impressive 25 years, 8 months, and 28 days (recorded in 2018).
Habitat & Nesting
Where do Red Kites live?
They thrive in hilly regions, wooded valleys, plains, and farmland with scattered thickets. After the nesting season, they often range into more open ground and are increasingly seen around towns and suburban edges where food is plentiful.
Where do Red Kites nest?
Breeding begins in mid-April. Nests are usually built high in tall trees, constructed mainly by the female using sticks, lined with softer materials, and often decorated with scraps of cloth or paper.
Red Kite nesting habits
These birds are monogamous, with pairs returning to the same nest year after year. The female typically lays two to three matt white eggs with brown speckling. She incubates them for 28–30 days, while the male supplies food during the first two weeks. Later, both parents feed the growing chicks until they fledge after 7–8 weeks.
Where do Red Kites sleep?
Red Kites roost in trees, and in winter it’s common to see them gathering communally in groups of several dozen.
Where do Red Kites go in winter?
Britain’s Red Kite population remains here year-round, though young birds may wander widely. As with many other species, large winter flocks can gather in favourite roosts. Numbering many hundreds of birds!
Diet & Feeding
What do Red Kites eat in the wild?
They have a varied diet, taking small mammals such as rabbits, mice, and squirrels, along with birds, frogs, fish, earthworms, and insects. They are also well known as scavengers, feeding on carrion and roadkill.
Where should you feed Red Kites?
- Feeder: Not suitable
- Table: Not suitable
- Ground: Preferred
How to attract Red Kites to your garden?
Red Kites don’t usually land in gardens, but if you live in an area where they’re present, they may swoop down if they spot food. Some rural households attract them by leaving scraps of uncooked meat out in the open, although this should be done sparingly and responsibly to avoid over-reliance.
Conservation Story
By the late 20th century, Red Kites had vanished from almost all of Britain, surviving only in small numbers in mid-Wales. Thanks to one of Europe’s most ambitious conservation efforts, involving reintroductions and decades of protection, their population has soared. Today, seeing a Red Kite’s forked tail carving across the sky is both thrilling and a powerful symbol of what people and nature can achieve together.
Explore more in our A-Z Bird Identification Guide for detailed profiles of all your garden favourites.
Looking to spot a new visitor on your feeder? Our comprehensive species pages help you recognise and care for every bird that drops in.
