Scientific name: Milvus milvus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Birds-of-prey
Field characters. Length 60-66 cm; wingspan 145-165 cm. Characteristic are the deeply forked, red-brown tail, narrow and distinctly angled wings with large whitish patches on underside at base of primaries; upperparts dark brown with feathers edged paler, underparts with dark streaks, whitish head. Juvenile paler with brownish head. Has great soaring powers. In winter sometimes found in communal roosts with up to several hundreds individuals.
Voice. Common call is a shrill mew "weeoo-weeoo-weeoo", resembling Buzzard's but higher pitched and more quickly repeated.
Distribution. Fairly rare breeding bird in most areas, more common in Spain and S Sweden.
Habitat. For hunting, prefers extensive open areas with low vegetation.
Food. Hunts by soaring over open ground at considerable height or by low gliding. Food items include: small mammals, birds (especially young), lizards, snakes, amphibians, dead or injured fish and insects. Also feeds on offal and waste from slaughterhouses and rubbish dumps.
Eggs. Variably-spotted with red-brown/pale brown/dark brown markings, often little spotted. Ground colour dull white/tinged blue (seldom). Texture fine granular, not glossy. Shape subelliptical/short subelliptical. Size 57 x 45 mm (52-63 x 40-49), weight 61 g (55-71). When abundantly marked difficult to distinguish from eggs of Buteo, but spots more sharply edged and with characteristic scratches, lines and very fine dark brown spots.