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The return of the red kite

The red kite was once a familiar bird in Britain. Kites feed mainly by scavenging, but because of their large size they were seen as a threat to game birds and poultry and were shot and poisoned until, by the late 1880s, only a few pairs remained in central Wales.

This small population did not spread further. Red kites are now being re-established in England and Scotland, using chicks taken from nests in parts of Europe where kites are still common. Ecologists consider that the most favourable landscape for the red kite is a mosaic of open land and woodland. Introduced birds are breeding and beginning to spread. Red kites can now be seen in parts of Britain from which they have been absent for over a century.

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