The raptor I have noted most in Northern Xinjiang is Black Kite Milvus migrans lineatus. I have found it in nearly every sort of habitat, from the Tianshan and across the Junggar Basin to the Altai. In July I had high counts of 180 at the Tianshan site Baiyanggou (43.424675, 87.163545) and 120 in the arid country north of Burqin (47.920242, 86.835243). I found this one in May in the Altai Mountains (47.975318, 88.199863), elev. 1330 m (4,370 ft.). Black Kite breeds but does not winter in Xinjiang. (Craig Brelsford)Black Kite M. m. lineatus, Qili River (32.083667, 118.665000), Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, December. Race lineatus occurs over most of China, govinda is in western Yunnan and southeast Tibet, and formosanusHainan and Taiwan. Uncommon passage migrant Shanghai. (Craig Brelsford)Black Kite with dead Mallard. Black Kite catches live prey but is also an eater of carrion. Near Ulungur Lake in the Junggar Basin (47.228727, 87.690298), Xinjiang, elev. 500 m (1,640 ft.), May. (Craig Brelsford)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MacKinnon, John (2022). Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press.
Orta, J. (1994). Entry Black Kite in family Accipitridae. Pp. xx, in del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (1994). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
