The pearl kite (''Gampsonyx swainsonii'') is a very small

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland. It is the only member of the genus ''Gampsonyx''. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist William Swainson.

Taxonomy and systematics

The type specimen was collected from Brazil by English naturalist William Swainson, and described by

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 17 ...

in 1825. Vigors noted the similarity to both hawks and falcons, but placed ''Gampsonyx'' within the "Accipitrine subfamily" because it lacks the notched beak of the falcons. He also noted its striking resemblance to the coloration of the falconets. Later, the pearl kite was classified with the falcons. For example, Peters placed it with the forest falcons in subfamily Polyhieracinae. In the mid-20th century it was found to be related to '' Elanus'' based on morphology and its molt schedule.

Distribution and habitat

This tiny

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

breeds from Panama, Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia and northern Argentina, with an isolated sedentary population in Nicaragua. It is expanding its range and was proved to breed on

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in 1970. It was first reported in Costa Rica in the mid-1990s, and now is fairly common along Pacific slope, to 1000m.

Description

The pearl kite is in length and weighs . It is the smallest raptor in the Americas and one of the two smallest accipitrids in the world (besides the

little sparrowhawk The little sparrowhawk (''Accipiter minullus'') is a species of Afrotropical bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the smallest member of the genus ''Accipiter'' and forms a superspecies with the red-thighed sparrowhawk (''Accipiter er ...

). The

tiny hawk The tiny hawk (''Microspizias superciliosus'') is a small diurnal bird of prey found in or near forests, primarily humid, throughout much of the Neotropics. It is primarily a bird-eater, and is known to prey on hummingbirds. Taxonomy The tiny ...

, another

neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

al species, attains a slightly higher weight than the pearl kite. The adult has a black crown, upperparts, wing and tail, a rufous edged white collar, yellow forehead and cheeks, mainly white underparts, and yellow legs. Immature birds are similar to the adults but have white and chestnut tips to the back and wing feathers, a buff collar and some buff on the white underparts. In flight this species looks mainly black above and white below. The northern form ''G. s. leonae'' differs from the nominate ''G. s. swainsonii'' in that it has rufous flanks.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest is a deep cup of sticks built high in a tree. The clutch is 2-4 brown-marked white eggs, incubated mainly by the female for 34–35 days to hatching, with a further five weeks to fledging. There may be two broods in a season.

Feeding

The pearl kite feeds mainly on

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, such as the '' Anolis'' and

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

s. However, its most common prey is the ''

Microlophus occipitalis ''Microlophus occipitalis'', colloquially known as the knobbed Pacific iguana, is a lizard included within the Tropiduridae family. It is a member of the ''Microlophus'' genus and thus also considered a lava lizard. The knobbed Pacific iguana i ...

''. It also takes small

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s (such as

ruddy ground dove The ruddy ground dove (''Columbina talpacoti'') is a small New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from Mexico south to Brazil, Peru and Paraguay, and northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. Individual birds can sometimes be see ...

s),

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s (such as

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

es); it usually sits on a high open perch from which it swoops on its prey. The call is a high musical ''pip-pip-pip-pip'' or ''kitty-kitty-kitty''.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Pearl Kite videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO ttp://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Gampsonyx+swainsonii Photo-High Res* *
Illustration
plate IX in ''The Genera of Birds'', 2ed. vol. 1 (G. R. Gray, 1849)
Synonymy
in ''Catalogue of the Accipitres or Diurnal Birds of Prey in the British Museum'', (Sharpe 1874). {{Taxonbar, from1=Q1047238, from2=Q10760608

pearl kite The pearl kite (''Gampsonyx swainsonii'') is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland. It is the only member of the genus ''Gampsonyx''. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist William Swai ...

Birds of the Guianas Birds of Brazil Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Birds of Nicaragua Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Birds of prey of South America