Discovering The Black Kite, The Most Widespread Bird Of Prey In The World

The black kite is one of the most fascinating birds of prey that can be found in Italy. It can be seen in many regions, for example in Sardinia, Sicily, and along the central-southern Apennines. It has unusual adaptability that allows it to proliferate in many ecosystems.

With a noble appearance and features that make it one of the most beautiful birds to see, with spread wings, this bird of prey will not leave you indifferent. Let’s discover together, therefore, the main characteristics and curiosities about the  black kite .

Characteristics of the black kite

Kites are part of one of the diurnal raptor groups living in Europe, characterized by an easily recognizable forked tail. For the rest, the black kite is a bird of prey of medium size and brownish tones, with a gray head in the adult specimens.

The tail serves as a rudder for this animal, so when it comes to distinguishing a kite from other birds it will be enough to stop and observe it to see this detail well, as it can be more closed or open.

Two species of kites live in Italy, which are however easy to distinguish. The red kite ( Milvus milvus ) which has large white spots on the underside of the wings and the black kite ( Milvus migrans ) which is completely brown, similar to the buzzard.

Behavior of the black kite

It is considered a gregarious species, since it is not uncommon to see it moving in groups. This raptor is an opportunistic animal that feeds on everything it finds and adapts to the availability of food.

The black kite also knows how to exploit diseases that affect rabbits, waiting when they are weak to hunt them. This demonstrates the great cunning and innate opportunism that allow this bird to survive in practically any  habitat .

This species is also known to practice  kleptoparasitism. That is, it steals food and prey hunted by another predator, catching it unprepared and running away with the loot.

The habitat of the black kite

The black kite is a migratory bird. It breeds in Europe but prefers to spend the winter in Africa. In this way it can better tolerate the cold periods and always returns to the same areas, always and when they guarantee sufficient availability of food.

Thanks to its innate ability to adapt and its marked opportunism as regards feeding, the black kite is the most widespread raptor in the world. However, it prefers areas near waterways, such as forests that extend near lakes or rivers.

The different subspecies of the kite make it a raptor with an enormous distribution: the black kite can be found on all continents, except America.

During reproduction, it moves to grazing areas, pine forests or large forests where it nestles, while for hunting it prefers plains and areas with little presence of obstacles. Its relationship with humans is positive: it exploits landfills and accumulated garbage, often flying over the territories beaten by livestock.

Conservation of the black kite

As for its conservation, the illegal use of pesticides has endangered the brown kites. Like many other birds, high-voltage cables can also represent an ever-looming danger.

Road accidents are not uncommon either:  they are often run over while feasting on the remains of some hedgehog, fox or other dead bird on the road.

However, the innate ability to adapt of this raptor allows it to proliferate in practically any environment and, despite everything, today this species is not in danger of extinction.