Red Kite chick and Egg in nest.
Image details
Contributor:
Lee Parsons / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
FE01PRFile size:
24.7 MB (1,018.1 KB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3600 x 2400 px | 30.5 x 20.3 cm | 12 x 8 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
2 June 2012Location:
Brynithel, Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, United KingdomMore information:
The red kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just outside in northern Iran. It is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel, Libya and Gambia. Red kites are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) long with a 175–179 cm (69–70 in) wingspan; males weigh 800–1, 200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1, 000–1, 300 g (35–46 oz). It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail, twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. Its call is a thin piping sound, similar to but less mewling than the common buzzard. There is a rare white Leucistic form accounting for approximately 1% of hatchlings in the Welsh population but is at a disadvantage in the survival stakes.