What to Know the about Black Kite in Uganda?

The Black Kite in Uganda is one of the African birds of Uganda seen during a Uganda birding safari. The black kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum-Chordata, and the subphylum-vertebrata.

Black kites are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. The body length of a black kite ranges from 47 to 60 cm, wingspan of 140 to 150 cm and weight is 560 g and the black kite can live up to 24 years in the wild.

Scientifically known as Milvus migrans, the Black Kite dwells within the Tropical portions of Africa that is the Sahara region, Eurasia and Austaralasia. This bird species is also distributed within the temperate areas such as Ethiopia, Palearctic, Australia and Oriental hence migration depends on the availability of roosting resources and sites. It inhabits a range of habitats which are found in open areas with access to water bodies that include lakes, rivers and ponds. Black Kite species also inhabits wetlands, open Savannas and woodlands however sometimes it occurs in large cities.

Physical description of the Black Kite

Black Kite is characterised with a medium sized body that weighs about 560 grams on average and measuring about 47 to 60 centimeters long. The bird species features a brown dorsal coloration which fades to a darker brownish colour on the tips of the tail and wings.

This bird species features an average wing spanning over 140 to 150 centimeters and it bares a brown ventral colour having lighter brown to almost a rusty colour markings which are dispersed throughout along the ventral body surface.

Black Kite species is also characterised a lighter coloured head baring dark brown small bead-like eyes and a beak which is in shape of a hook hence used for consuming prey and tearing of flesh. This bird bares a yellow cere which is a skin on top of the beak close to the nostrils.

The bird speces has a fork-like shaped tail and the feathers on the tail being split thereby forming a v-shape from where its other name “Fork tailed Kite” is derived. It is characterised with long pale yellowish legs and black sharp talons that are effective catching the prey and the tail having a striped darker brown feathers but mostly brown coloration.

Both male and female species have the same coloration although the female is slightly larger than the male bird species hence exhibiting a slight sexual dimorphism and the juvenile species is generally characterized with a lighter colour which features shorter forked tails than that of the adult kite species.

 Behaviour of the Black Kite

This bird species usually associate and live in social groups and also migrates seasonally. It has a life span of about 24 years  and can be solitary during the breeding period or decide to live in a limited and smaller groups.

Black Kite prefer building nests in the mid canopy parts of trees and in forests that are approximately close to water along with little tree cover areas and occassionally near nests of closely related Red Kite. The nest is always located about 8 to 15 meters high above the ground and oftenly seen as high as 30 meters.

 Breeding and Reproduction process of the Black Kite

During the breeding season which begins in March and August, Black Kites tend to be monogamous where they have a single at a time and produces extremley louder calls to one another thereby having a ritualized aerial courtship. The mates lock their feet together and spirals towards the ground which is termed as grappling but a dangerous display.

The nest is constructed by both male and female mates and it consists of bulky sticks, feathers,feces, pappers and plastics. It is mainly positioned and placed near the trunk of the tree, electric pylons and on cliff edges however the nest may also be built closer to other Black Kite pairs and bird species such as grey heron and cormorant.

This bird species is very territorial during the breeding period and always alert for potential predators that could probably cause harm to it ans its partner including their young ones.

The breeding female species lays an average of 2 to 3 typical off-white eggs that are decorated with freckled brown spots. These eggs are incubated by both parents but mostly the female staying close and the male providing food to the female. The incubation process takes aperiod of 32 days and the young ones will leave the nest after 42 to 56 days after hatching. When fledging process has occured,the young ones are still taken care of by both parents until they are self reliant for another 15 to 56 days.