Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae

Red Kite

Milvus milvus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

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It is recognisable by its striking deeply forked tail, which it uses as a rudder for acrobatic turns in flight.

Weight

800 g – 1.3 kg

Size

60 cm – 70 cm

Lifespan

10 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

2,312-2,440 breeding pairs in Spain (2014 survey), placing the country third in Europe after Germany and France; as a wintering area it is the most important on the continent, with 73,353 birds and 1,388 roosts in the 2024/2025 survey against 50,297 in 2014. Europe holds 95% of the world total (19,000-23,000 pairs)

Temperate forestGrasslandOmnivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Temperate forest Grassland

46countries 187parks43same family

Fun facts

It eats carrion, small mammals, birds, earthworms and occasionally live prey.
Its reintroduction to the United Kingdom is regarded as one of the most successful raptor conservation projects in Europe.
A bird ringed in Germany reached a record 26 years and 8 months.
comportamientoIt often feeds on carrion, and in several European cities it has learned to take food scraps near people, changing its traditional behaviour.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Broadleaf woodland mixed with grassland and farmland in western and central Europe
Birth weight: Weight at hatching not found as a precise figure
Size at birth: Downy and dependent on hatching
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 31-32 days per egg (up to 40 days to incubate the whole clutch)
Litter / clutch size: 1 to 3 eggs per clutch
Lifespan in captivity: A documented record of 26 years and 8 months, in a bird ringed in Germany

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; Brickfields Park; Birda; Animal Corner; Bilderreich; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Springer (home range study); SEO/BirdLife: tras el fuerte declive de 1994-2004, la población reproductora creció un 15 % hasta 2014 y el censo invernal de 2024/2025 registró unos 20.000 ejemplares más que una década antes || Molina (Ed.) 2015, El milano real en España, III Censo Nacional, SEO/BirdLife; SEO/BirdLife, censo nacional de población invernante 2024/2025 || SEO/BirdLife, III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España, ficha del milano real

Where to find it

See its range on the interactive map

Best time: In winter, between November and February, when Spain holds 60-75% of the European population and the kites form communal roosts of dozens or hundreds of birds, above all in Castile and León