The Diet of Black Kite (Milvus Migrans) in the North of the Moscow Region

The diet composition of the Black Kite from 15 nests that cover the period from 2013 to 2023 at the Crane Homeland Reserve, Northern Moscow Region was analyzed. We collected pellets and prey remains from nests and nearest surroundings. In total, we analyzed 472 remains of 96 animal species. The Black Kite is polyphagous in the study area, with in six classes of animals represented in the diet: Insects, Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Five classes of vertebrates found in the study area and five insect orders were noted in it’s diet. We found the remains of animals whose weight exceeded the weight of Kites. We assume that prey was picked up by Kite. All six classes of prey were found in one nest, while the rest of the nests had less groups. The composition of prey from nearest nests was differed greatly. Mammals were present in the diet of all nests. Birds and fish were presented in most nests. We found invertebrates in all nests despite one. The diet from the same nest was different by the year. In 2019 and 2022, the proportion of by bird’s biomass was higher than in 2023. The presence of certain prey classes was related to the distance to the nearest hunting areas. For example, number and biomass of amphibians in the diet correlated by the distance to water. The number of insects was higher in nests located further from the forest edge. The number of birds in the diet related with the distance to open areas, while the number of insects negatively correlated with the biomass of Birds and Amphibians.