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Among Accipitriformes sensu stricto, only a few species have been reported to form hybrid zones; these include the red kite Milvus milvus and black kite Milvus migrans migrans. M. milvus is endemic to the western Palearctic and has an estimated total population of 20–24,000 breeding pairs. The species was in decline until the 1970s due to persecution and has declined again since the 1990s due to ingestion of rodenticide-treated baits, illegal poisoning and changes in agricultural practices, particularly in its core range. Whereas F1 M. milvus × M. migr. migrans hybrid offspring have been found, F2 and F3 hybrids have only rarely been reported, with low nesting success rates of F1 hybrids and partial hybrid sterility likely playing a role. Here, we analyzed the mitochondrial (CO1 and CytB) and nuclear (Myc) DNA loci of 184 M. milvus, 124 M. migr. migrans and 3 F1 hybrid individuals collected across central Europe. In agreement with previous studies, we found low heterozygosity in M. milvus regardless of locus. We found that populations of both examined species were characterized by a high gene flow within populations, with all of the major haplotypes distributed across the entire examined area. Few haplotypes displayed statistically significant aggregation in one region over another. We did not find mitochondrial DNA of one species in individuals with the plumage of the other species, except in F1 hybrids, which agrees with Haldane´s Rule. It remains to be investigated by genomic methods whether occasional gene flow occurs through the paternal line, as the examined Myc gene displayed only marginal divergence between M. milvus and M. migr. migrans. The central European population of M. milvus is clearly subject to free intraspecific gene flow, which has direct implications when considering the origin of individuals in M. milvus re-introduction programs.

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The Brachylaimoidea are digenean parasites of vertebrates, including humans, domestic animals, poultry and wild game. Numerous Brachylaimoidea, particularly adults of Brachylaima and Leucochloridium, are difficult to identify to species. We provide and analyse sequences of two nuclear (18S rDNA, ITS2) and two mitochondrial (CO1, ND1) DNA loci of central European species of the Brachylaimoidea, namely Leucochloridium holostomum, Leucochloridium paradoxum, Leucochloridium perturbatum, Leucochloridium subtilis, Leucochloridium vogtianum, Urotocus rossitensis, Urogonimus macrostomus, Michajlovia migrata, Leucochloridiomorpha lutea, Brachylaima arcuatus, Brachylaima fuscata and Brachylaima mesostoma. We identified three clades in the genus Leucochloridium, which do not correspond to the previously suggested subgenera Neoleucochloridium, Papilloleucochloridium and Leucochloridium. We reject classification of Urotocus and Urogonimus in Leucochloridiinae, and, instead, re-establish the subfamilies Urotocinae and Urogoniminae. We synonymize the genus Renylaima with the genus Brachylaima. We reject M. migrata as a member of Leucochloridiinae sensu stricto or Brachylaimidae suggested by some previous authors. We found that the previously sequenced Glaphyrostomum sp. does not cluster with any hitherto sequenced Brachylaimidae. We also provide comparative measurements of the examined central European Brachylaimoidea, address the the specificity of their localization in the host and discuss their host-specific prevalence and intensity of infections based on the extensive dataset of birds examined in 1962-2015.