POPULATION SIZE AOO EOO TREND
0 mat. ind. -
-NORTH AFRICA REGIONAL ASSESSMENT: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (POSSIBLY REGIONALLY EXTINCT) (CR) A2ace; C2a(i,ii); D (IUCN version 3.1)
This species used to breed in North Africa. After a decline in the breeding population in the late 20th century, there has been no evidence of breeding since 2004. The nearest populations in southern Europe are also declining, including wintering populations, so the likelihood of immigration is shrinking. Although poisoning may have re-duced populations considerably in the 20th century, climate change may now be a limiting factor for the breeding population at the southern edge of the species' distribution. The species is listed as Critically Endangered (Pos-sibly Regionally Extinct) under criteria A2ace; C2a(i,ii); D, but with further survey efforts the species could well be reassessed as Regionally Extinct in the future.
DISTRIBUTION
The red kite is endemic to the Western Palaearctic and more than 95% of its population is found in Europe (Mou-geot et al., 2011). It used to be a rare resident in northern Morocco and locally in coastal Algeria and Tunisia, but it became extinct as a breeding species probably during the first few years of the 21st century, and now it is a rare migrant wintering especially in Morocco and with some sightings in Algeria and Tunisia (Isenmann and Moali, 2000; Thévenot et al., 2003; Isenmann et al., 2005; El Agbani and Qninba, 2011; Radi et. al., 2020. The species occurred in Morocco (Rif, Middle Atlas, plains and hills of eastern Morocco and Mamora forest) (Thévenot et al., 2003), but there have been no successful breeding attempts since 2004 (Cherkaoui, 2004). More recent sight-ings of an adult during the breeding season in Aguelmam Afernourrir (Middle Atlas) in late May – early June 2013
CR
© Álex Colorado
could be considered the last breeding attempt (I. Cherkaoui, pers. obs.). It also bred commonly in Algeria in the early years of the 20th century (Whitaker, 1905), but there have been no more recent breeding records (Isenmann and Moali, 2000) and in Tunisia there have been no records of breeding pairs since the 1970s (Isenmann et al., 2005). The sparsely populated Mediterranean forests where the species used to breed in Morocco were similar to its Iberian habitat.
According to Mougeot et al. (2011), North African countries can be considered the current southern limit of the species' distribution. Its range seems to be retreating northward due to climate change (Huntley et al., 2007) with local extinctions also occurring in southern Spain (Molina, 2015) and declining numbers of resident breeding birds in Iberia and France, and of migrants wintering in Spain (BirdLife International, 2018b). The North African population is likely to have survived because of immigration from the larger Spanish population, but with the decline in this Iberian population during the 20th century further immigration is now unlikely to occur. Additionally, the majority of the global population used to winter in Spain and North Africa, but increasingly birds are remaining in their northern European breeding grounds because of climate change (Huntley et al., 2007; BirdLife International, 2018b).
Therefore, wintering red kites are also declining in North Africa, although they are still sighted in this region (Thévenot et al., 2003; Isenmann and Moali, 2000; Isenmann et al., 2005; eBird, 2020; Radi et al., 2020), even in the Moroccan Sahara (Bergier et al., 2017), Egypt (Goodman and Meininger, 1989) and even as vagrants in Libya (Isenmann et al., 2016). Wintering red kites in Morocco are associated with feeding at rubbish dumps, which could be the reason for their remaining in the region (JMM and Associates, 2015), but it is also a major threat because of the risk of electrocution on power lines close to landfills (Radi et al., 2020).
POPULATION
The red kite is extinct as a breeding species in Algeria and Tunisia (Isenmann and Moali, 2000; Isenmann et al., 2005). The species occurred in Morocco but there have been no successful breeding attempts since 2004 when one breeding pair was found nesting in a cedar tree in the Middle Atlas, with 2 chicks (Cherkaoui, 2004). Recent sightings of an adult during the breeding season in Aguelmam Afernourrir (Middle Atlas) in late May – early June 2013 could be considered the last known breeding attempt (I. Cherkaoui, pers. obs.). Therefore, it is likely that the species is extinct as a breeding species in North Africa, but further surveying is required to confirm this. If a hitherto unknown population does persist in North Africa, wide-ranging ongoing threats such as climate change make it likely that it will be declining.
The North African population probably survived because of immigration from the larger Spanish population, but the decline in this Iberian population during the 20th century due to widespread accidental poisoning (Aebischer, 2009; Garrido et al., 2014) and climate change (Huntley et al., 2007; BirdLife International, 2018b) has made fur-ther immigration unlikely.
HABITATS AND ECOLOGY
The species occurs in open woodland and adjacent open areas (Clark and Davies, 2018). In winter, it also occupies farmland without trees, wasteland, scrub and wet-lands (BirdLife International, 2018b) and also rubbish dumps and slaughterhouses (Clark and Davies, 2018; Radi et al., 2020). In Mo-rocco the species bred in sparsely populat-ed Mpopulat-editerranean broadleaf woodlands and forests mixed with farmland and pasture, similar to its Iberian habitat (Thévenot et al., 2003; Cherkaoui, 2004). Red kites are less gregarious than black kites, though small groups will gather at abundant food sources (Clark and Davies, 2018) especially in winter.
© IUCN
Distribution range of the Red kite, Milvus milvus - (Linnaeus, 1758) in North Africa. Source: The IUCN Red List of the breeding birds of prey of North Africa.
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Most birds in Europe are migratory, wintering mainly in southern France and Iberia, but some travel across to Africa (Radi et al., 2020). The autumn crossing from Europe takes place between mid-August and late November and the spring crossing extends from late February to the end of May (Thévenot et al., 2003). Birds are usually seen singly or in pairs, but sometimes form small flocks, possibly family groups, when on migration (Ferguson-Lees and Chris-tie, 2001). Red kites consume a wide spectrum of food (carrion, organic rubbish, small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and fish species) by predation, scavenging and piracy (Mougeot et al., 2011; Clark and Davies, 2018).
They build their own nests or use old nests made by other species (buzzards or corvids) in trees. The nest is constructed with dead twigs, is typically 30–50 cm wide, and lined with dry (not green) vegetation and other materials (wool, paper, plastic, rags). Each pair has several (two to five) nests and usually reuses the same nest sites in consecutive seasons, but will sometimes change nest site after a breeding failure (Mougeot et al., 2011).
One to three eggs are laid between March and April (Mougeot et al., 2011; Clark and Davies, 2018). In Morocco, fledglings have been observed in May and June (Thévenot et al., 2003).
THREATS
As with other scavenger species, widespread accidental poisoning, largely with strychnine used by many farmers for predator control, and more recently with carbofuran, has contributed significantly to red kite decline (Aebischer, 2009; Garrido et al., 2014). Internationally banned organochlorine pesticides are still locally available and kill wildlife and pollute the environment (Garrido et al., 2014). Indirect poisoning from pesticides and secondary poisoning from the consumption of rodents poisoned by rodenticides spread on farmland to control vole plagues threatens the species particularly in its wintering ranges in France and Spain and possibly in North Africa, where it is driving rapid population declines (Aebischer, 2009). There is a strong correlation between rapid declines and those populations that winter in Spain (Carter, 2007), which will be the source of the kites that winter in North Africa.
The decline of livestock grazing and the intensification of farming leading to chemical pollution, homogenisation of landscapes and ecological impoverishment also threaten the species (Knott et al., 2009). Destruction and distur-bance because of the intense human use of forests to extract wood as fuel for cooking and heating and because of the felling of large trees to clear land for agriculture especially threatens tree-nesting raptors like red kites, leading them to abandon their breeding territories. Wind turbines are also a potentially serious future threat (Mammen et al., 2009) so the increasing number of massive wind energy projects in northern Morocco could pose a huge threat to the population migrating across the Strait of Gibraltar. Other threats include electrocution on and collision with power lines (Mionnet, 2007; Radi et al., 2020), hunting and trapping (Mionnet, 2007), roadkill, deforestation, and possibly competition with the generally more successful black kite (Milvus migrans) (Ferguson-Lees et al., 2001;
Cardiel and Viñuela, 2007; Mammen, 2007). Climate change seems to be shifting optimal breeding areas north-wards (Huntley et al., 2007), so survival on the southern edge of their range (i.e. North Africa) will become harder.
CONSERVATION
Conservation actions in place: CMS Appendix II. CITES Appendix II. An initiative to identify and correct dan-gerous power lines has started in Morocco with the collaboration of governmental bodies and NGOs (Godino et al., 2016; Martín Martín et al., 2019).
Conservation actions needed: A conservation Action Plan is required, including a feasibility analysis for a reintro-duction programme and the suitability of providing supplementary feeding stations. Bird-friendly structures should be installed on power lines to prevent electrocution and collisions . Greater control over the use of pesticides and poisons is needed. Populations should be monitored to determine, protect and manage potential breeding and wintering areas. Such research can also survey for any potential breeding activity. Actions to increase awareness of biodiversity conservation are required, as well as training for law enforcers. A management plan should be devel-oped for open landfill sites as key feeding habitats for red kites and other raptors in North Africa. It is also important to work with landowners to protect habitats and prevent any potential persecution.
Assessor(s): Garrido López, J.R., Rousselon, K., Cherkaoui, I., Buirzayqah, S., Riad, A., Chokri, M.A. & Haitham, O.
Reviewer(s): Numa, C. & Barrios, V. / Contributor(s): Gyenge, P. & BirdLife International Date: 2020–05–27