Black Kite numbers have surpassed themselves this year with
over 80,000 birds migrating through the Batumi bottleneck to date.
Black Kite is a medium sized raptor which is overall dark in
colour with a pale area across the upper-wing coverts. The head is pale grey
with some streaking. The mantle and undertail is also dark in Western birds.
The primaries have six fingers (Red Kite five) and the tail is small and
triangular with a shallow fork when the tail is closed.
Adult birds have a grey head with some streaking through to
the breast. They show a more uniform dark brown on the upper-wing.
Juvenile birds have an overall smart brown appearance with
white spotted shoulders through the mantle with a white tip to the greater
coverts. The head is brown which matches the general colour of the bird. Older
birds develop a creamy head and show a dark eye mask.
This species is easily confused with dark morph Marsh
Harrier and Booted Eagle in Europe.
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