Red kite

Red kite
	Red kite ( Milvus milvus )
Systematics
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Birds of prey (Accipitriformes)
Family :	Hawk species (Accipitridae)
Genre :	Kites ( milvus )
Type :	Red kite
Scientific name
	Milvus milvus
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

The red kite ( Milvus milvus ), also called red kite , fork harrier or king harrier, is a bird of prey the size of a buzzard from the family of hawks (Accipitridae).

In contrast to the closely related, slightly smaller black kite , the distribution of the red kite is essentially limited to Europe. It breeds mainly in open landscapes interspersed with small forests or trees. It is significantly less water-bound than the black kite. Most of the red kites in central Central Europe and those breeding in northern and eastern Europe are migratory birds, while a variable percentage of breeding birds from western and southwestern Central Europe remains in the breeding area as resident birds over the year. Over 50 percent of the total population of this species, which mainly feed on smaller mammals and birds, breed in Germany.

No subspecies are currently recognized. The kites of Cape Verde , which have not been recorded since 2000 , were regarded as a subspecies of the red kite ( M. milvus fasciicauda ), occasionally also as a separate species ( Milvus fasciicauda ). Kites that were later caught in Cape Verde were black kites.

Significant decreases in the main breeding areas meant that the IUCN upgraded the population to NT (= near threatened) at the beginning of the millennium.

External features

Red Kite Studies

The red kite is an easily identifiable species of birds of prey. It is most likely to be confused with the black kite, but there are also good distinguishing features to this closely related kite species.

Half-fanned tail:
black kite (left)
red kite (right)

The red kite is larger than a common buzzard and slightly larger than the black kite; it has very long wings and a long forked tail. The seated bird looks reddish-brown, with a significantly lighter, mostly ocher-colored feather edging, especially of the coverts of the upper wing and the dorsal plumage, giving a high-contrast overall impression. The head, neck and throat plumage of adult red kites is very light, almost white, and has striking black feathers that make these parts of the body appear dashed in black. The rather strong beak is yellow at the base and dark gray or black on the beak hook. The short legs are yellow, the claws black. The irises of adult birds are pale yellow. The clearly black, longitudinally dashed belly plumage is somewhat lighter and more luminous reddish brown than the dorsal plumage; the lower wing cover feathers are also colored. The arm and hand wings are very dark at their ends, almost black.

Red kite looking for prey

In flight, the long, relatively narrow wings and the deeply forked, rust-red tail, which is always in motion and still has a notch even when fully fanned, are particularly noticeable. When viewed from above, the black arm and hand wings contrast strongly with the rest of the reddish-brown plumage. The flight image from below is even richer in contrast , as the hand wings are white at the base and form an extensive white wing field, while a black mark can usually be seen in the bow of the wing. The outermost, deeply fingered hand wings are black in their last third. In gliding, the arm wings are raised slightly above the horizontal, but the hand wings are straight or slightly lowered, which results in a noticeably bent wing profile. The wings are clearly angled in the carpal joint in almost every flight position .

The sexes do not differ in terms of coloration, and the youth plumage also closely resembles the adult dress. The best identifying feature of juvenile individuals, which can also be used in field orithological terms in very good light, is the more sand-colored, not light gray-white head and the more pale reddish-brown belly plumage, which is more speckled (not longitudinally dashed). In the case of very young, fully fledged red kites, the tail can still be rounded at the very edge, as the outermost control feathers have not yet reached their full length.

height and weight

The reverse sex dimorphism in the red kite is similar to that of the black kite in terms of body size, but it is somewhat more pronounced in terms of body weight. The heaviest males weigh 1.1 kilograms; on average, the weight is a little less than one kilogram (0.93 kg). The heaviest females weigh 1.4 kilograms, the mean is 1.06 kilograms. The body length varies between 60 and 73 centimeters, of which between 31 and 39 centimeters are due to the impact . The span is 150 to 180 centimeters.

Mauser

Adult birds molt their entire plumage every year. This complete moult begins with the body plumage already during the breeding period and ends with the change of the wings and tail feathers (mostly in the wintering regions). Some juveniles change parts of the body plumage soon after flying out; A complete moult begins in all young birds in the spring of the 2nd year of life and is completed in late summer / early autumn. From then on, young red kites show the appearance of colored, older individuals.

Lute

Red kites are acoustically less noticeable than black kites. Especially outside of the courtship season and further away from the eyrie, they are largely silent, apart from food disputes with other birds such as crows , buzzards or other kites, which are usually carried out very loudly. The most conspicuous call is a high pitched tone, which varies greatly in tone, but is mostly high- pitched , elongated , to which further elements are added in a descending and ascending tone curve . The first element is elongated, often plaintive, the following elements are wavy and shortening, often stumbling at the end.

distribution

Brood distribution of the red kite
turquoise : Annual bird
light green : Short- or medium-distance
migrants, yellow-green hatched : Mostly migrants,
yellow-turquoise hatched : Mostly resident birds and winter guests
. In good mouse years, broods are found outside the core zones.
Wintering red kites can be found anywhere in the breeding area as well as in large areas in south-western Europe, occasionally in southern and south-eastern Europe, and in exceptional cases in Asia Minor.

The distribution area of the red kite is now essentially limited to Central, West and South West Europe. The main distribution of this species is in Germany, which is home to over 50 percent of the red kite population estimated at a maximum of 29,000 breeding pairs worldwide.

There are also larger breeding bird populations in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and also in Great Britain, especially in Wales . In Northern Europe the red kite is only represented in significant numbers in Sweden, while the species does not occur in Finland and Norway and is also very rare in the Baltic states . Larger occurrences still exist in Poland and the Czech Republic , while only a few pairs breed in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary . In Eastern Europe, occurrences only exist in the far west of the Ukraine and Belarus , and only a few pairs breed in European Russia. It is uncertain whether the species can still be found as a breeding bird in the Balkans . The formerly not inconsiderable Turkish holdings no longer seem to exist. The red kite has also largely disappeared from Morocco and only breeds in the far north of this state.

habitat

The red kite is a bird of prey in open landscapes interspersed with small and large trees. It is significantly less water-bound than the nominate form of the black kite, with which it often breeds in close proximity. Preferred habitats are agricultural landscapes with field trees, often also park landscapes and structured forest edges bordering open land, more rarely heather and moor areas, as long as trees are available as nesting sites. He often uses the favorable updraft conditions in narrow river valleys or on mountain slopes.

Breeding habitat of the red kite in the hook

For hunting he needs open cultivated land, grasslands and pastures, and wetlands can also serve as feeding grounds. He includes harvested or just plowed grain fields in the search for food as well as highways and garbage dumps, but the latter not to the same extent as the black kite. Its distribution area essentially coincides with the brown earth areas of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Mediterranean brown earth and Terra Rossa areas and is mainly in the intensive zones of central European agriculture.

In general, the red kite is an inhabitant of the lowlands and the hill country areas up to about 800 m . In the Swiss Jura , individual breeding sites are almost 1200 m . In the Pyrenees , occurrences in the subalpine level are known. Historical breeding sites in the Caucasus and the High Atlas were at altitudes of almost 2500 m .

In the Middle Ages, the red kite seems to have bred in some European cities, such as London. It is likely to have played a similar role there as a rubbish destroyer as some subspecies of the black kite ( M. migrans parasitus and M. m. Govinda ) play in Africa or South and Southeast Asia today .

In favorable foraging habitats, red kites can be found in very high settlement densities. Particularly densely populated was the Hakel , an approximately 13 km² large forest area interspersed with extensive clearings in the Magdeburg Börde , where 136 pairs of red kites brooded in 1979. Since then, however, the numbers there have continuously declined. Such concentrations of up to ten breeding pairs within one square kilometer are exceptional, but red kites are also found in high population densities in the Baar and Eichsfeld .

nutrition

Food spectrum

Red kite with caught fish over the Havel in the EU bird sanctuary Westlicher Düppeler Forst

Like the black kite, the red kite is largely a food generalist . In contrast to this, however, he is a more powerful, active hunter. Only in exceptional cases does fish have such a dominant position as the nominate form of the black kite. It also takes in carrion and waste regularly, but less often than the black kite. Individual feeding and hunting habits are quite different. During the breeding season, the main food consists of small mammals and birds. The quantity and weight predominate in mammals voles ( Microtus sp.) And moles of very noticeable (Talpidae) in birds Star . Various pigeons (Columbidae), corvids (Corvidae) and larger thrushes (Turdidae), such as blackbirds ( Turdus merula ), juniper ( Turdus pilaris ) and Mistle Thrushes ( Turdus viscivorus ) are relatively frequently beaten. Where the European hamster ( Cricetus cricetus ) is still relatively common, for example in eastern Poland, it can become the main prey. Often beaten birds are injured or sick individuals or young animals. In water-rich areas fish, among them especially white fish such as roach ( Rutilus rutilus ) and bream ( Abramis brama ), can dominate in terms of weight. The red kite prey on both living and dead or dying fish floating on the surface or washed ashore. The number of invertebrates that the red kite ingests both in flight and on the ground is not inconsiderable . Various beetles (Coleoptera) and earthworms (Lumbricidae) can be important food components, especially in spring . The proportion of reptiles and amphibians in the total food supply varies greatly from region to region; in southern populations it is usually somewhat larger than in central or northern Europe.

The red kite is a little less common on carrion than the black kite, but it also uses dead or dead animals. It can be found on large carcasses as well as on the remains of small animals. Red kites can also be found in landfills, where they often prey on rats , or where large amounts of animal waste are produced, such as slaughterhouses or animal processing plants.

Food acquisition

Red kite

Red kite looking for prey

Play media file

Red kite attacks prey at the feeding place

The red kite is a search aircraft fighter in open landscapes that systematically searches for prey over large areas of its feeding ground in a relatively low and slow gliding and gliding flight. He is a surprise hunter who, in the event of an unsuccessful attack, usually brushes off and does not pursue the missed prey any further. Not infrequently he can also be seen walking on the ground, where he is primarily looking for insects and earthworms. The red kite picks up spied prey by flying over the ground without landing. He also grabs fish from the surface of the water in the manner of sea eagles and carries them away. Occasionally it can surprise and hit birds in flight or on branches, but mostly it preyes them on the ground. As a rule, he does not kill the prey with his claws, but with powerful beak blows. Red kites also deprive other birds, especially black kites, crows and gulls . They chase away their prey or harass them until they regurgitate food that has already been swallowed. In winter in particular, this type of food acquisition seems to cover a not inconsiderable part of the food requirement.

Overall, the red kite is very flexible in its food acquisition strategies and can promptly take advantage of favorable opportunities. He is particularly drawn to mowing work, as it exposes previously inaccessible prey. Until their upheaval, even harvested fields offer good food resources, which red kites can adapt to very quickly.

If there is enough food and outside the breeding season, the red kite does not begin its first prey flights until some time after sunrise and can end its hunting flights a few hours before sunset. During the day he takes longer breaks, usually near the eyrie, which he also uses for intensive plumage care.

The size of the area used to procure food depends on the respective range of prey animals. Various studies have shown that food flights rarely lead more than two kilometers away from the eyrie. Usually the foraging bird stays within sight of the eyrie.

behavior

General and social behavior

The activity time is noticeably short when there is a good supply of prey, but it can begin as early as dawn, especially during the breeding season, and only end when it gets dark. Again and again, however, the red kite takes long breaks between prey flights, even when the nestlings are vigorously begging in the immediate vicinity .

Outside the breeding season, the red kite is very sociable and does not show any territorial behavior. The species almost always spends the night in larger sleeping societies and also flies hunting together. These sleeping societies can include several hundred individuals. Frequently "playful" behavior such as mutual teasing and synchronous flight games of some birds can be observed in these collections of kites. Occasionally breaking red kites in flight conifers pin down, to let them just fall.

Even during the breeding season, territorial behavior is not very pronounced, but both partners defend the eyrie and its wider surroundings (up to about 100 meters) as well as the air space above it against conspecifics and alien intruders. The kites rise high and attack the intruder quite vigorously from above. Usually the male in particular pursues him for a certain time, while the female returns to the eyrie very quickly. As a rule, the red kite does not claim its own feeding ground; single breeding pairs only show territorial behavior in this respect only when there is very little food availability. Occasionally, even with very large population densities, such as existed in the Hakel and exist in some areas of Wales , territorial behavior regarding the hunting areas has been observed. Red and black kites can breed very close to each other. In disputes about a cheap nesting place or an already established nest, the red kite is usually the loser.

hikes

The move strategies of this type are not uniform. Overall, the last two decades have seen a shortening of the migration routes and an increased persistence of the species in breeding areas previously cleared in winter. Winter with less snow and a larger, always available food supply in rubbish dumps and along busy roads make it possible for many central and some northern European populations to stay in the breeding area during the winter. The largest winter populations in Central and Northern Europe are in the northern Harz foreland , in Switzerland (for example near Neerach ), in Baden-Württemberg and in southern Sweden. In some wintering areas in Switzerland and in southern Sweden, the overwinterers were (and are) supported by additional feeding. In Baden-Württemberg, the number of wintering red kites decreased continuously with the closure of some landfills.

However, the majority of northern and central European red kites leave the breeding area in autumn and move to the southwest, particularly to Spain. The breeding birds of south-western Central Europe, Italy, France and Spain, as well as the few red kites in Southeast Europe and North Africa, on the other hand, are mostly resident birds, with foraging flights of different distances within the wintering area. In Spain, the wintering regions coincide with the breeding areas of the red kites residing there. They are mainly found in the north and south Meseta , in the Ebro Basin , in Extremadura and in parts of southern Andalusia .

Red kites migrate during the day and mostly individually or in small groups. On the move, the train communities tend to have more individuals than on the return home. Due to the relatively short migration distances, red kites leave the breeding area late, rarely before mid-September, most of them in the first half of October. The females leave for about a week or two before the males. Conversely, the first migrating red kites appear again in the breeding area very early, in the middle of February, the majority follows at the end of February and in the first decade of March. Most of the one-year-old and many two-year-old red kites do not move back to the breeding area on their first migrations, but spend the summer either in the wintering area or wander around in smaller societies in southern and central France, and sometimes in Switzerland.

Breeding biology

overview

In exceptional cases, red kites are able to reproduce in their first year of life, but usually only breed for the first time in their third year of life. The type and duration of the couple bond is different. Largely monogamous breeding season marriages are the rule, but long-term marriages of several years have been observed as well as partner changes during the breeding season. In resident birds, the pair bond seems to be more stable than in migratory birds, in which the higher failure rates due to the migratory activity force them to change partners more frequently. The species is very loyal to the brood. Even sexually mature young birds usually try to settle in the vicinity of their place of birth, even if suitable breeding places are available in a wider area. According to Walz, in densely populated red kite habitats, this leads to an increase in the age at which breeding starts due to the lack of suitable breeding sites.

In birds that wintered in Central and Eastern Europe, courtship behavior was found throughout the winter. In the breeding area, the later partners often arrive at different times, not infrequently by up to twelve days (in exceptional cases up to four weeks), whereby the female or the male may appear first. Some arrive in the breeding area already loosely paired. There the resident birds begin their main courtship in mid to late February, the migratory birds on average around two to three weeks later.

Recent telemetric studies show that the size of the action area around the breeding area of red kites can be extremely different. During the rearing phase, the range of action for 27 different males with transmitters fluctuated from year to year and from bird to bird between 5 and 500 km² ( MCP 95% between 2.4 and 235 km²). It was found that the number of fledgling young birds (per breeding pair) was higher if the action area was smaller (since prey is already available nearby).

Horstbau and courtship

The red kite's courtship is not very noticeable. Essentially, it consists of nest building, shared flights over the nest site and frequent copulations that last into the nestling period. The female encourages copulation with low trill calls, a horizontally crouched posture and a lowered head. Usually the male then flies directly to his partner and lands on her back. The red kite, as well as many other birds of prey, has spectacular steep drops above the listening area, where two adult birds claw into each other. After evaluating various studies on this topic, this behavior, known as "cartwheeling", is now mostly interpreted as a defense against rivals. It is also conceivable that this behavior occurs both when defending against rivals and - modified - as a courtship ritual. Already in the nest building phase, the female largely ceases its own feeding flights and is taken care of by the male from this time until it takes part in the food procurement itself about two to three weeks after hatching.

The construction of the nest or the repair of an old nest begins immediately after the partner arrives in the breeding area. Horst locations and eyrie trees are very different, but in Central Europe it is mainly oak , beech or pine . Rock fry occur in the populations of the Balearic Islands and the North African red kites. Horst locations on lattice masts were also found very rarely. Most of the clumps are relatively high and in strong trees, but very low-lying nests have also been found in weak trees. Red kites are happy to choose nesting trees along steep slopes or over rocky cliffs, preferably in peripheral locations or in heavily thinned stands. The nesting base is usually a strong fork in the trunk, more rarely a fork in a strong branch. Both partners are involved in building the nest. The basic structure consists of strong twigs and twigs that they pick up from the ground or tear off with their beak or the claws of trees. The birds upholster the eyrie with different, soft, organic material, but also with cultural waste such as foils, plastic bags or twine. The latter often leads to the strangulation of a nestling later. Plastic materials prevent a balanced air circulation and can lead to wetness and hypothermia in the boys.

The size of the red kite nests is very variable. They can be remarkably small and clumsily assembled, with diameters between only 45 to 60 centimeters. However, nests that have been used for several years are massive constructions with a diameter of one meter and more, with a height of over 40 centimeters.

Clutch and brood

Red Kite Eggs ( Museum Wiesbaden )

Three nest-young red kites in the eyrie, the oldest is 32 days old; they show the akinesia that is typical when threatened

Plucking a 3–4 week old red kite, probably by a hawk

The clutch usually consists of three eggs , more rarely one, two or four eggs. Clutches with five eggs have also been found. The eggs weigh around 60 grams and measure an average of 57 × 45 millimeters. They correspond in size and shape to a medium-sized chicken egg. On a cloudy white background, they have reddish-brown spots of varying strength and blackish garlands. Laying in Central Europe begins at the end of March at the earliest, but usually not until the beginning of April. Fresh clutches can be found until May. Laying begins around two weeks earlier in southern Europe, and not before the end of April or beginning of May in the northernmost distribution areas. Red kites only breed once a year; A new clutch occurs only when the clutch is lost early, usually in a different eyrie.

The eggs are almost exclusively incubated by the female about 32 to 33 days after the first egg, so that the young are raised with clear developmental differences. The male only takes over the breeding business for a short time. In the first two to three weeks, the female stays almost constantly at the eyrie, hovering and shading the nestlings and feeding the food brought by the male, which consists mainly of small mammals and birds. The nestling period is between 48 and 54 days, depending on the weather and food availability. In extreme cases, the young fly out only after 70 days.

The main endangerment of the nestlings lies - apart from lack of food - in the predation by the hawk . The lead time is quite short compared to that of young black kites and is rarely more than three weeks. Then the young birds pass, and the adults usually also leave the immediate nesting area.

Mixed broods

In the wild, mixed breeds between red and black kites have occasionally been found. The black kite was mostly the female bird. Successful breeding between a male black kite and a hybrid female was also known. Such mixed broods are more common in captivity. In the Aukrug Nature Park in Mittelholstein, a mixed couple bred successfully for 6 years. After the red kite was absent, a hybrid from a previous brood apparently took its place.

Systematics

The red kite is one of three species in the genus Milvus . In addition to the nominate form Milvus milvus milvus , the subspecies M. milvus fasciicauda , which occurs endemically on the western and southwestern islands of Cape Verde, has also been described. This subspecies was last identified in 1999 with two individuals. All kites from Cape Verde that were caught and analyzed afterwards were black kites of the nominate form Milvus migrans migrans . M. milvus fasciicauda seems to have died out. The taxonomic position of the Cape Verde kite remains unclear: it could have been a relic species that existed before the separation of the two species, the red kite and the black kite, or a largely stabilized hybrid between these two species. Molecular genetic studies on museum bellows from the late 19th century showed, however, that birds with the characteristics typical of fasciicauda belong to the red kite clade .

Existence and endangerment

Population of the red kite (breeding pairs) by country, as of 2009.

In the Red List of the IUCN 2006 red kite is classified as a type of early warning (NT = near threatened), also in the red list of breeding birds in Germany by 2015. The situation in the provinces is uneven. While the red list of breeding bird species in Baden-Württemberg has classified the red kite in the "not endangered" category since 2007, the red list of endangered breeding birds in Lower Saxony and Bremen has listed it as critically endangered since 2007 (category 2). The main reason for this is the in part considerable decline in stocks since the beginning of the 1990s in the key countries in which Germany, Spain and France are spreading. In Germany as a whole, the populations have been stable since 1996 - albeit at a lower level than in 1990. Stable or even increasing numbers of breeding pairs can be seen in Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Wales. The stocks in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are also stable, albeit at a low level .

The estimates of the total European population fluctuate between a minimum of 19,000 and a maximum of 29,000 breeding pairs, depending on the author. There are various reasons for natural population fluctuations. For example, the populations increase in years with a high availability of mice and European hamsters (so-called gradation years), while years with (suddenly onset) damp and cold spring temperatures can lead to clutch losses due to undercooling or cooling of eggs or young birds, whereby the population can also decrease overall. Extreme weather events, which will increase due to advancing climate change, could negatively affect the population of the red kite in the future.

The main reasons for the decline in populations between 1990 and 1996 are the intensification and conversion of agriculture. After the fall of the Wall , this had a particularly negative effect on the red kite populations in eastern Germany, where regional losses of more than 50 percent and a significant drop in the number of reproductions were recorded. The main factors are the deterioration in the availability of food due to the change in mowing dates due to the increased cultivation of winter cereals and rapeseed as well as a decline in cattle farming - with less pasture and green forage cultivation with regular mowing.

In addition, secondary poisoning through ingestion of poisoned prey, persecution through deliberate poisoning, occasionally also through shooting, as well as accidental losses on overhead lines and wind turbines contribute to the decline.

Losses due to illegal hunting are also serious, mainly during bird migration and in the wintering areas. As a result, many animals do not return in spring. In the breeding areas there are brood losses due to forestry work in the breeding season near the nest. Despite strict bans and regulations in accordance with the EU Birds Directive, there are still enormous deficits in terms of controls.

Red kite killed in an accident with a wind turbine

Collision statistics, which have been kept by the state bird protection station in Brandenburg since 2002, provide information about the victims found in wind farms. For the red kite, this number was a total of 496 in Germany between 2002 and September 2019, only buzzards were more frequently affected with 602 victims. These numbers of an average of 28 registered collision finds per year do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about how collisions affect the population. Even the most extensive study on this topic to date (PROGRESS study) cannot answer this question. A comparison of the population development of the red kite carried out in 2019 by the umbrella association of German Avifaunists from 2005 to 2014 with the density of wind turbines in 2015 shows regional differences. There were significant increases in stocks in southwest and western Germany exclusively in areas where there were previously almost no wind turbines, while there were significant decreases in areas with a high density of wind turbines, for example in Saxony-Anhalt and East Westphalia. On average, there was a highly significant negative correlation between the change in the red kite population and the density of wind turbines at the district level, i.e. the number of red kites decreases as the density of wind turbines increases.

The closure of landfills also had an impact on stocks in the early 1990s. The birds were deprived of available food sources all year round. It has not yet been sufficiently clarified whether increasing black kite populations have a negative impact on the red kite, which is in direct competition. The same applies to the influences of the raccoons that immigrated from North America , which has spread particularly in Hesse and Brandenburg. However, there is clear evidence that raccoons use nesting sites for birds of prey and, as nest robbers, actively clear out birds of prey nests.

Life expectancy

Red kites can get very old. A red kite found in the wild was almost thirty years old. However, the actual life expectancy of wild birds is significantly lower. In a study from 2009 2/3 of 44 red kites caught in Thuringia were between three and seven years old. Only 16% were older than 10 years. The first migration in particular ends fatally for many red kites. At the end of the first year of life, around 60–65 percent live from one cohort. With increasing experience, the failure rate slows down so that after three years around 35–45 percent of a cohort is still alive and can brood. However, these numbers depend on many factors, so they should only be seen as approximate values. Lack of food, shooting down, collisions with obstacles and power lines, and poisoning are the most common early causes of death.

Others

The red kite was bird of the year 2000 in Germany and Austria . The election was intended to draw attention to its endangerment through the intensification of agriculture as well as Germany's special responsibility for the conservation of the species ( animal species national responsibility of Germany ). Because over half of all breeding red kites worldwide have their nest in Germany.

The municipality of Hattorf am Harz has this bird of prey in its coat of arms.

literature

Adrian Aebischer: The red kite - a fascinating bird of prey. Haupt Verlag, Bern, 2009; ISBN 978-3-258-07417-7 .

Hans-Günther Bauer and Peter Berthold : The breeding birds of Central Europe. Existence and endangerment. Aula, Wiesbaden 1998, ISBN 3-89104-613-8 , pp. 90f.

Mark Beaman and Steven Madge: Handbook of Bird Identification. Europe and Western Palearctic. Ulmer-Stuttgart 1998; Pages 181-182 and 232, ISBN 3-8001-3471-3 .

James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie: Raptors of the World. Houghton-Mifflin Company Boston and New York 2001; Pages 376-379, ISBN 0-618-12762-3 .

Dick Forsman: The Raptors of Europe and The Middle East. Christopher Helm London 2003. pp. 55-64; ISBN 0-7136-6515-7

Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim (Hrsg.): Handbook of the birds of Central Europe . Edited by Kurt M. Bauer and Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim, among others. 17 vols. In 23 parts. Academ. Verlagsges., Frankfurt am Main 1966 ff., Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985 ff. (2nd edition). Vol. 4 Falconiformes. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1989 (2nd edition). Pp. 136-163; ISBN 3-89104-460-7

Kai Gedeon, Christoph Grüneberg, Alexander Mitschke, Christoph Sudfeldt, Werner Eikhorst, Stefan Fischer, Martin Flade, Stefan Frick, Ingrid Geiersberger, Bernd Koop, Matthias Kramer, Thorsten Krüger, Norbert Roth, Torsten Ryslavy, Stefan Stübing, Stefan R. Sudmann, Rolf Steffens, Frank Vökler & Klaus Witt: Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten - Atlas of German Breeding Birds (also: ADEBAR). Vogelmonitoring Deutschland Foundation and Umbrella Association of German Avifaunists, Münster, 2014.

Christian Gelpke: Species aid concept for the red kite (Milvus milvus) in Hesse. State bird sanctuary for Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland 2012 pdf

Benny Génsbøl and Walther Thiede: Birds of Prey . All European species, identifiers, flight images, biology, distribution, endangerment, population development. BLV Buchverlag, 2005, ISBN 3-405-16641-1 .

Ubbo Mammen, Bernd Nicolai, Jörg Böhner, Kerstin Mammen, Jasper Wehrmann, Stefan Fischer & Gunthard Dornbusch: Species aid program Red Kite of the State of Saxony-Anhalt . Reports of the State Office for Environmental Protection Issue 5/2014: 160 p.

Theodor Mebs and Daniel Schmidt: The birds of prey in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Biology, characteristics, stocks. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006; Pp. 321-330, ISBN 3-440-09585-1 .

Winfried Nachtigall: The red kite (Milvus milvus, L. 1758) in Saxony and southern Brandenburg: Studies on distribution and ecology. Dissertation at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 2008. PDF 31 MB

Rudolf Ortlieb: The red kite - Milvus milvus . Westarp Sciences, Hohenwarsleben 2004 (Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei, Volume 532). 5th edition (unchanged reprint of the 3rd edition from 1989), ISBN 3-89432-344-2 .

M. Schmidt & R. Schmidt (2006): Long-standing successful mixed breed pair of black kites (Milvus migrans) and red kites (Milvus milvus) in Schleswig-Holstein. Corax 20: 165-178.

Jochen Walz: Red and Black Kites . Flexible hunters with a penchant for socializing. AULA-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-89104-644-8 .

Viktor Wember: The names of the birds of Europe. Meaning of the German and scientific names. Aula-Wiebelsheim 2005; Pages 62, ISBN 3-89104-678-2 .

Förderkreis Museum Heineanum eV: Red Kite - Red Dragon - Red Kite - Catalog for the exhibition in the Museum Heineanum. Halberstädter Druckhaus GmbH, Halberstadt 2012, ISSN 0947-1057 .

Individual evidence

↑ Jeff A. Johnson, Richard T. Watson & David P. Mindell (2005). Prioritizing species conservation: does the Cape Verde kite exist? . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 272 (7): 1365-1371. doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2005.3098 . PMC 1560339 (free full text). PMID 16006325 .

↑ Birdlife data sheet

^ ^A ^b Pfeiffer, Thomas (2009): Studies on the age structure of breeding birds in the red kite (Milvus milvus), in: Population ecology of birds of prey and owl species, Vol. 6, Halle / Saale

↑ Red kite plumage

↑ Calling adult birds and begging young birds

↑ The map was drawn from various text sources as well as the distribution map in Aebischer (2009)

↑ Distribution in Wales (PDF, 28 kB)

↑ Gelpke (2012)

↑ Mebs & Schmidt p. 324 and 325

^ Hans Schmid and Bernad Volet: Winter population of the red kite in Switzerland. In: Der Ornithologische Beobachter 101 (2004) p. 7

↑ Gelpke (2012) pp. 52-59

↑ Walz p. 15

↑ ^a ^b Walz p. 79

↑ PFEIFFER, T. & B. MEYBURG (2015): GPS tracking of Red Kites (Milvus milvus) reveals fledgling number is negatively correlated with home range size, Journal f. Ornithology.

↑ Simmons & Mendelsohn 1991: A critical review of cartwheeling of raptors ( Memento of May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

↑ Video "cartwheeling" with the red kite .

↑ Ferguson-Lees p. 378

↑ Red Kite Project University of Göttingen

↑ Schmidt & Schmidt (2006)

↑ Prioritizing species conservation: does the Cape Verde kite exist (PDF, 360 KByte)

↑ Sabine M. Hille and Nigel J. Collar: The taxonomic and conservation status of Milvus kites in the Cape Verde archipelago: further (and final?) Reflections. In: Bull.BOC 2009 129 (4)

↑ Aebischer (2009)

↑ Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.

^ Bauer, Hans-Günther et al .: Red list and annotated list of breeding bird species in Baden-Württemberg, 6th version . Ed .: LUBW State Institute for Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg. December 31 2013.

↑ Thorsten Krüger, Markus Nipkow: Red List of Endangered Breeding Birds in Lower Saxony and Bremen, 8th version, as of 2015 . Ed .: Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation. tape 35 , no. 4 . Hanover April 2015, p. 194 .

↑ Gedeon, Kai et al., Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten - Atlas of German Breeding Birds (also: ADEBAR). Vogelmonitoring Deutschland Foundation and umbrella association of German Avifaunists, Münster, 2014, pages 202f.

↑ European Environment Agency (EEA) Eionet Central Data Repository (2019): German Art. 12 Report 2019. Annex B - Bird species' status and trends report format (Article 12) for the period 2013 - 2018. Species A074 Milvus milvus. (According to Article 12 of the EU Bird Protection Directive (Directive 2009/147 / EC) from Germany to the EU Commission in the context of the EU Bird Protection Report 2019 as Annex B reported data on the population trend (see 3rd population trend) for the red kite .)

↑ Gelpke (2012), p. 11.

^ Theodor Mebs and Daniel Schmidt: The birds of prey in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Biology, characteristics, stocks. 2nd edition, Stuttgart 2014, p. 328f.

↑ Rudolf Ortlieb: The red kite - Milvus milvus. Westarp Sciences, Hohenwarsleben 2004, 5th edition; Influence of weather: p. 64; Food availability: p. 145.

↑ Aebischer (2009), p. 77.

↑ Mebs & Schmidt (2014); Food availability: pp. 80 and 324ff .; Climate and breeding success: p. 65ff.

↑ G. Dobler (1991): Climatic influences on density, breeding season and breeding success of the goshawk Accipiter gentilis and the red kite Milvus milvus. In: Vogelwelt. Volume 112, pp. 152-162.

↑ Jochen Walz: Red and Black Kite. Flexible hunters with a penchant for socializing. Wiebelsheim 2005, p. 92.

↑ Mebs and Schmidt (2014)

↑ K. George (2004): Changes in the East German agricultural landscape and its bird life. In: Apus - Contributions to the Avifauna of Saxony-Anhalt. Volume 12, No. 1/2, pp. 3-140.

↑ Aebischer (2009), p. 148f.

↑ Axel Hirschfeld: Illegal bird of prey tracking in North Rhine-Westphalia: Report for the year 2010. In: Charadrius. Volume 47, 2011, pp. 79-86.

^ Philippe Berny and Jean-Roch Gaillet (2008): Acute Poisoning of Red Kites (Milvus Milvus) in France. In: Journal of Wildlife Diseases. Volume 44, No. 2, April 2008, pp. 417-426.

↑ Gelpke (2012) p. 66f.

↑ Gelpke (2012) p. 69f

↑ Tobias Dürr: On the endangerment of the red kite (Milvus milvus) by wind turbines in Germany. In: Information from the Lower Saxony nature conservation area. Volume 29, No. 2, 2009, pp. 185-191.

↑ Numbers and assessments from Brandenburg on the development of the bird world in Brandenburg (2011). (PDF)

↑ Brochet A.-L. et al. (2016): Preliminary assessment of the scope and scale of illegal killing and taking of birds in the Mediterranean. Bird Conservation International 26 (01)

↑ Hans Uhl: Species protection project for the red kite (Milvus milvus) and its repopulation in Upper Austria . Ornithological news from Upper Austria, 2019/27: 37-54

↑ Tobias Dürr: Effects of wind turbines on birds and bats. State bird sanctuary in Brandenburg.

↑ PROGRESS study: Determination of the collision rates of (raptor) birds and creation of planning-related bases for the prognosis and assessment of the collision risk from wind turbines (PDF; 338 pages).

↑ Jakob Katzenberger, Christoph Sudfeldt: Red Kite and Wind Power . Negative relationship between wind turbine density and inventory trends. In: Der Falke - Journal for Bird Watchers . No. 10/2019 . Aula-Verlag , October 2019, ISSN 0323-357X ( falke-journal.de [PDF; accessed on October 18, 2019]).

↑ Aebischer (2009), p. 148ff.

↑ T. Langgemach, J. Bellebaum (2005): Predation and the protection of ground-breeding bird species in Germany. In: Vogelwelt. Volume 126, pp. 259-298.

^ F. Braunmann, F. Niebel, A. Raue (2006): Avifaunistic biennial report 2004/05 for the Drömling Nature Park. In: Haldensleber ornithology information. Volume 24, pp. 43-68.

↑ M. Görner (2009): Do raccoons (Procyon lotor) have an influence on the reproductive success of native birds? In: Acta Ornithoecologica. Volume 6, No. 4, pp. 197ff.

↑ D. Tolkmitt et al. (2012): Influence of the raccoon Procyon lotor on settlement density and breeding success of bird species - case studies from the Harz Mountains and its northern foreland. In: Ornithological annual reports of the Museum Heineanum. Volume 30, pp. 17-46.

↑ Klaus George & Bernd Nicolai (1996): Life expectancy of free-living kites ( Milvus milvus, Milvus migrans ). In: Ornithological annual reports of the Museum Heineanum. Volume 14, pp. 49-51.