Black Kite - Systematics and Taxonomy

Systematics and Taxonomy

The Red Kite has been known to hybridize with the Black Kite (in captivity where both species were kept together, and in the wild on the Cape Verde Islands).

Recent DNA studies suggest that the yellow-billed, African races, parasitus and aegyptius, differ significantly from Black Kites in the Eurasian clade, and should be considered as a separate, allopatric species Yellow-billed Kite, M. aegyptius. They occur throughout Africa except for the Congo basin and the Sahara Desert. There have been some suggestions that the Black-eared Kite (M. m. lineatus) should be elevated to full species status as M. lineatus, but this is not well supported.