MONDAY 19 AUGUST 2019Black kites set to breed in the
UK for first time
Bird expert David Tomlinson spotted this black kite gliding above his home in Suffolk in April last year (Sarah Farnsworth)
PHOEBE WESTON
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT
Red kites are a common sight in UK skies thanks to a reintroduction programme that means the raptor has
gone from virtually extinct to more than 1,800 breeding pairs. It now appears a changing climate will mean
its close cousin the black kite will be the latest species to populate our skies.
With five-foot wingspans and sharp talons, the black kite is an acrobatic flyer and one of the world’s most
successful scavengers. They are widespread in Europe but have never lived in Britain. Similar in size to red
kites, black kites are not black but a darker shade of brown than their northern cousins.