Kites (Milvus spp.) wintering on Crete

Abstract

The winter months are an important part of the year for raptors as survival throughout this period is critical for the succeeding year's population recruitment. We reveal novel insights into the wintering of kites (Milvus spp.) on the Mediterranean island of Crete, Greece. We use a combination of 1) direct field observations, 2) online photograph searches and 3) analysis of satellite telemetry data from a tagged hybrid Red Kite × Black Kite (Milvus milvus × M. migrans migrans). The number of observations of wintering kites has increased since 1998. The wintering of numerous Black Kites with morphological features of both subspecies (M. migrans migrans and M. migrans lineatus) and a hybrid Red Kite × Black Kite is a new phenomenon on Crete.

Phylogeography and demographic history of the black kite Milvus migrans, a widespread raptor in Eurasia, Australia and Africa

“…The westward expansion of lineatus has increased since the 1990s owing to a drop in the numbers of migrans, with lineatus apparently rapidly introgressing the European subspecies over the vast territory between Altai and the Ural (Karyakin 2017). The westward assault by lineatus appears to be ongoing as black kites with lineatus features have been reported from across Europe and the Near East (Badley and Hyde 2006, Kralj and Barišić 2013, Forsman 2016, Karyakin 2017, Panter et al 2020, Skyrpan et al 2021. While no specialised studies have been undertaken to evaluate the viability and fertility of migrans/lineatus hybrids, the fact that it was hybrid birds that occupied the Ural and Volga regions following the pronounced drop in migrans numbers in the 1990s (Andreyenkova et al unpubl.…”

“…The intergradation zone (IZ) of migrans / lineatus covers large areas of west Siberia, Kazakhstan and eastern Europe (Fig. 1) and is gradually expanding (Stepanyan 1990, Ferguson‐Lees and Christie 2001, Karyakin 2017, Panter et al 2020, Skyrpan et al 2021). This expansion appears to be most active in a westward direction, with birds showing the characteristics of lineatus already occurring on the Iberian Peninsula (Skyrpan et al 2021), making the present migrans / lineatus IZ difficult to outline (Karyakin 2017).…”

Causes, temporal trends and the effects of urbanisation on admissions of wild raptors to rehabilitation centres in England and Wales

“…2010), monitoring the dynamics of the illicit wildlife trade (Panter & White 2020), analysis of powerline collisions data (Bevanger 1998; Kolnegari et al . 2020), monitoring via remote tracking devices (Kendall & Virani 2012; McIntyre 2012; Panter et al . 2020, 2021) and wildlife rehabilitation admissions data (see Fix & Barrows 1990; Morishita et al .…”

Genomic consequences of colonisation, migration and genetic drift in barn owl insular populations of the eastern Mediterranean

“…Their strategic position makes them pivotal stop-overs in the seasonal migration of many bird species, and movements of bird populations are widely studied (e.g. Emin et al, 2018; Panter et al, 2020). However, thus far they have been the subject of only few genetic studies, most on each island individually rather than comparatively, and typically focusing on human commensal small mammal species (Bonhomme et al, 2011; Cucchi, Vigne, Auffray, Croft, & Peltenburg, 2002; Dubey et al, 2007).…”