Black Kite

Milvus migrans

The black kite or fire kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have experienced dramatic declines or fluctuations. Current global population estimates run up to 6.7 million individuals. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 4,880 times across 55 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 12°C (typically 9 to 17°C, from 10 areas).

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 52°N in April to 65°N in August, about 1,400 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.