The black kite is one of the most widely distributed birds of prey worldwide, breeding across most temperate and tropical areas of the Palearctic, Asia, and Australia (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe it is a very abundant species, only absent or scarce in the British Isles and further north in Fennoscandia (Keller et al., 2020). In Spain it is present across most of the territory, rarer in the drier southeastern quadrant of the peninsula, and appearing in a fragmented pattern in Galicia and Asturias (Blanco and Sergio in SEO/BirdLife, 2022); it is absent as a breeder in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.

In Madrid it appears throughout the territory, especially in forested areas and riverside woodlands. It is absent from open areas in the north, from the metropolitan area of Madrid, and from crops and scrublands in the arid southeastern zones. It prefers all kinds of open and mosaic-like forest environments, close to river courses and with good shrub and tree cover for nesting (Díaz et al., 1994).

In the national park it is a scarce species; observations are distributed above the forest along the ridge that separates the Lozoya valley from the La Pedriza slope. These records likely correspond to individuals in movement or wandering that are not breeding during census times, as the prevailing altitudes in the park are not suitable for its biology.