Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Least Concern | |
| 2018 | Near Threatened | A2bce+3bce+4bce |
| 2016 | Near Threatened | A2bce+3bce+4bce |
| 2013 | Near Threatened | A2bce+3bce+4bce |
| 2012 | Near Threatened | A2bce+3bce+4bce |
| 2009 | Near Threatened | A2b,c,e; A3b,c,e; A4b,c,e |
| 2008 | Near Threatened | |
| 2005 | Near Threatened | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Threatened |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | medium |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 6,870,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 6,250,000 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Value | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of mature individuals | 60000-70000 | good | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | increasing | good | estimated | 1993-2025 |
| Decline % (10 years/3 generations future) | 30-70 | - | - | - |
| Decline % (10 years/3 generations past and future) | 50-70 | - | - | - |
| Number of subpopulations | 2-100 | - | - | - |
| Generation length (years) | 10.7 | - | - | - |
Population justification: Recent data submitted to the European Commission for EU countries (which hold at least 90% of the global population) estimated a total of 29,746- 34,751 pairs breeding in 17 countries (BirdLife International in prep.), closely matching a new global estimate of c. 35,000 pairs (A. Aebischer in litt. 2020). The global population is therefore estimated to be between 60,000-70,000 mature individuals.
This is a substantial increase from the numbers previously reported: 25,200-33,400 pairs for the European Red List of Birds (BirdLife International 2015), and 21,000-25,000 pairs in 2009.
Trend justification: Although this species declined globally until the 1970s owing to persecution, many populations recovered or stabilised during 1970-1990 (Mionnet 2007) and its overall numbers were probably stable in Europe from 1970 to 1990 (Tucker and Heath 1994). A decline occurred within core breeding areas - Spain, France and Germany - between 1990 and at the early 2000s, but these were partly offset by rapid increases in the U.K., Sweden, Poland and Switzerland. Data collated from across the range and submitted to the European Commission (EC) under Article 12 of the EU Birds Directive in late 2019 indicates that the species is now stable or increasing in the majority of countries in which it occurs, including Germany (Grüneberg & Karthäuser 2019), France (David et al. 2017) and Spain (Molina 2015: though declines continue in the south). Only in Portugal was the species determined to be decreasing (BirdLife International in prep.). In addition, in Morocco it is believed to be extinct as a breeding species: 20 pairs were known in 1987 (Bergier 1987) but numbers declined with the last known nest located in 2004 (Radi et al. 2020). Small numbers continue to occur in winter (Radi et al. 2020).
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Algeria | possibly extinct | native | yes | yes | ||
| Andorra | extant | native | yes | |||
| Armenia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Austria | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Azerbaijan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bangladesh | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belarus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cape Verde | extinct | native | ||||
| Croatia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Cyprus | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Czechia | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Egypt | possibly extinct | vagrant | ||||
| Estonia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Finland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Gambia | possibly extinct | vagrant | ||||
| Georgia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Greece | possibly extinct | native | yes | |||
| Hungary | extant | native | yes | |||
| Iceland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| India | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | extant | native | yes | |||
| Iraq | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Ireland | extant | reintroduced | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Jordan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lebanon | extant | vagrant | yes | yes | ||
| Libya | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Liechtenstein | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Luxembourg | extant | native | yes | |||
| Malta | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mauritania | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Moldova | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Montenegro | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Morocco | extant | native | yes | |||
| Nepal | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| North Macedonia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Norway | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| San Marino | extant | uncertain | yes | |||
| Serbia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sudan | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | yes | yes | |
| Switzerland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Syria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Tunisia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | |||
| United Kingdom | extant | native | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | resident |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Temperate | major | breeding |
| Forest | Temperate | major | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | major | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | major | breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 1600 m | Occasional altitudinal limits | (max) 2500 m |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | No decline | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | No decline | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | No decline | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
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| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | No decline | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Transportation & service corridors | Utility & service lines | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | No decline | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food - human | - | - | non-trivial | recent | ||
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | - | - | international | non-trivial | recent | |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | - | - | non-trivial | recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Milvus milvus. Downloaded from
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-kite-milvus-milvus on 22/09/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://datazone.birdlife.org on 22/09/2023.
