The red kite gets its name from its reddish-brown body and tail and has a wingspan of up to 1.8m (5.9ft).
Kites normally breed in their second or third year and build stick nests in trees which they line with wool.
Prior to laying eggs, kites often decorate their nests with scraps of cloth and paper, prompting Shakespeare to write in A Winter's Tale "when the kite builds, look to lesser linen". They lay two or three eggs.
The Irish name for the red kite is an préachan ceirteach (the cloth kite), derived from the habit of stealing cloths.
Kites feed on carrion, small mammals, crows, insects and worms.
