Birds in cages in photos Pt 5

This is a slight deviation from my original plan as many of the photographs that I have taken of Black Kites have been of flying birds rather than those cooped up in cages. It is frequently encountered at bird parks and falconry shows although I would have thought that it would make a pretty poor falconer's bird being more of a scavenger than a hunter. Still they must be quite easy to look after. The Black Kite Milvus migrans has been split into three species~: Black, Black-eared  (lineatus) and Yellow-billed (aegyptius). Black Kite is fairly widespread in most of Europe (but only a vagrant in Britain), most of Africa south of the Sahara, India and Australia. Black-eared is primarily Asian and Eastern Russian and the Yellow-billed is found in sub-Saharan Africa. Black-eared Kite has been recorded in Britain with one being present in North Norfolk a few years back as far as I can remember although I think it is considered as a subspecies as far as the BOURC is concerned.  Black Kite has been recorded over 360 times in Britain but there are no records of Yellow-billed Kite. Interestingly I have come across as many Yellow-billed Kites at Bird of Prey Centres as I have Black Kites. Yellow-billed Kites are paler and more evenly coloured than Black Kites and they have a Yellow bill surprisingly! The difference in head plumage in particular can be seen by comparing the first photograph of a Black Kite taken last February with the rest of Yellow-billed Kite taken in September.

# 6 Black Kite/ Yellow-billed Kite Milvus migrans/ aegyptius

Black Kite Milvus migrans

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius

Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius