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1. Red Kites within Europe (Airds Farm B&B)  Click for more images  Click for more images  Click for more images  Click for more images | | Location | Airds Farm Crossmichael Nr Castle Douglas | | Postcode | DG7 3BG | | Telephone | 01556 670418 | | Red Kites Internationally
There are some thirty-one species of kites world-wide and their success is such that they are found in just about every continent in the world, excluding the Arctic and Antarctic. They include some of the best fliers and the most beautiful of birds that exist, and the red kite Milvus milvus is no exception.
However, the red kite is not a common species in global terms. In fact, it is one of the few bird species and the only bird of prey almost entirely restricted to Europe, with most occurring in Germany, France and Spain. The closely related black kite (Milvus migrans), whilst not present in the UK, is common throughout the Old World, especially in the tropics.
Global distribution of the red kite
The range of the red kite has contracted in recent years and it has become extinct, or nearly so on the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, and it disappeared from the Cape Verde Islands in the 1970s. Very small populations hang on in Morocco, Sardinia, Sicily and Minorca. Even in the stronghold European countries, there have been reductions due to changes in habitat and illegal poisoning.
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