The pearl kite (Gampsonyx swainsonii) is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland in Central and South America. 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 in 1825. Its most common prey is the Microlophus occipitalis. It also takes small birds (such as ruddy ground doves), frogs and insects (such as cockroaches); 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
- Pearl Kite photo gallery VIREO 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).