Appearance
The pearl kite is 20.3–23 cm in length and weighs 80–95 g. It is the smallest raptor in the Americas and one of the two smallest accipitrids in the world. The tiny hawk, another neotropical 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.
Distribution
This tiny kite 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 in 1970. It was first reported in Costa Rica in the mid-1990s, and now is fairly common along Pacific slope, to 1000m.
Habitat
This tiny kite 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 in 1970. It was first reported in Costa Rica in the mid-1990s, and now is fairly common along Pacific slope, to 1000m.
Reproduction
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 5 weeks to fledging. There may be two broods in a season.Food
The pearl kite feeds mainly on lizards, especially "Anolis", but also takes small birds and insects; 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".References:
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