Features& Description
The Black Kite, Latin for “Milvus migrans”, is a medium-sized bird of prey that appears black against the light, but is actually brown. Recognizable in flight by its forked tail (much less so than the Red Kite), on the ground its grey or brownish-white head easily distinguishes it from a Common Buzzard. The legs are yellow and the beak is predominantly black, with a yellow nasal bridge.
Habitat(Biotope)
It prefers low-lying areas, forests near lakes, streams and marshes (sometimes even visible on the edge of town).
Behavior& habits
Returning from the Sahara, it migrates in spring to nest and then leave again. Its flight is punctuated, during courtship, by swoops, spins, stalls and falls around its partner. Its wings are often folded in a W-shape when flapping, or stretched out in slow rotations over a point, with its tail fully extended (which makes it easier to identify).
It feeds mainly on dead prey, scavenging like vultures. It mainly eats diseased or dead fish floating on the surface. In this way, it helps to eliminate diseases spread by carrion. It also occasionally eats dead prey in cultivated fields.
Reproductionand immature
The Black Kite builds its nest in tall trees near its hunting area, in woods close to wetlands. It nests in colonies, sometimes very large ones. The female can lay up to 3 eggs, which hatch after 30 days. The young only leave the nest after 6 weeks.
Cryor Voice
The Black Kite emits loud, tremulous whistles. Its alarm call is rapid and whinnying, rather like that of a young gull, and sometimes mewing.
Milan Noir Jean Michel Babin
