Red kites usually breed for the first time when they are 2 years old, although exceptionally they can successfully breed when they are only 1 year old. The young spend a further 15-20 days near the nest being fed by their parents. The nestlings begin climbing onto branches around their nest from 45 days they rarely fledge before 48-50 days and sometimes not until they are 60-70 days of age. Later both parents bring items of food that are placed in the nest to allow the chicks to feed themselves. The female broods them for the first 14 days while the male brings food to the nest which the female feeds to the chicks. The chicks hatch altricial (helpless) and are cared for by both parents. Our most beautiful bird of prey, striking in its shape, its pattern, and its extraordinarily graceful flight. The male will also bring food for the female. Learn how to draw a Red Kite in Flight with step by step instructions from award winning childrens author and illustrator, Shoo Rayner. Incubation is mainly done by the female, but the male will relieve her for short periods while she feeds. The eggs are non-glossy with white ground and red-brown spots. The female lays 1 to 3 eggs but 4 and even 5 eggs have occasionally been recorded. The nest is lined with grass and sometimes also with sheep's wool. The male brings dead twigs that are placed by the female. On the upper side they are red-brown at the shoulders with darker tips and edges, while underneath there are. Their head is pale grey and patterned with dark streaks, and they have a yellow beak with a dark hook and pale, striking eyes. The toy kite is named after the bird (not the other way round). A pair will sometimes use a nest from the previous year and can occasionally occupy an old nest of the common buzzard. Red kites have a rusty reddish-brown body with a deeply forked tail. The nest is usually placed in a fork of a large hardwood tree at a height of between 12 and 15 m (39 and 49 ft) above the ground. Red kites are monogamous they mate for life and breed from March to May.
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