Pearl Kite
Gampsonyx swainsonii
Very small raptor found in open spaces, often perched on a telephone wire or exposed tree. Size alone helps with identification. Even smaller than a kestrel, with unmarked white underparts and gray back. Also look for buffy forehead and cheek and rusty flanks. Sexes alike. Usually seen singly around open fields.
识别特征
The pearl kite is 20.3–23 cm (8.0–9.1 in) in length and weighs 80–95 g (2.8–3.4 oz). It is the smallest raptor in the Americas and one of the two smallest accipitrids in the world (besides the little sparrowhawk). 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.
分类信息
The type specimen was collected from Brazil by English naturalist William Swainson, and described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors 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.<p>Later, the pearl kite was classified with the falcons. For example, Peters: xviii : 281 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.
- 学名
- Gampsonyx swainsonii
- 命名信息
- Vigors, 1825
- 目
- Accipitriformes
- 科
- Accipitridae
- 属
- Gampsonyx
分布与栖息地
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.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
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.<p>The pearl kite feeds mainly on lizards, such as the Anolis and geckos. However, 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.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- rising
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Gadwall
Mareca strepera
Fairly large duck with extensive range across Northern Hemisphere. Males are mostly gray with a black rear end and puffy head. Also look for small white wing patch in flight. Females are similar to Mallard, but note thinner bill, plainer face, orange line along the edge of the bill, and white wing patch in flight. Typically found in pairs or small flocks in shallow wetlands, ponds, or bays, sometimes mixed with other species of ducks.
Spot-fronted Swift
Cypseloides cherriei
Little-known swift found mostly in mountainous areas, though flocks occasionally venture into lowlands. All dark with short square tail and angular wings. Namesake white spots on forehead and behind eyes are distinctive, but these can be extremely difficult to see. Many swifts are best left unidentified. Sex and age variation not well known; some birds, maybe juveniles, can show whitish scaling on belly. Occasionally seen singly or mixed with flocks of other swifts, but most often in monotypic flocks of up to several dozen individuals. Voice can be helpful with practice; typically a staccato chatter followed by “pew pew pew” notes like a laser gun.
Schneider's Pitta
Hydrornis schneideri
Large-headed and long-legged, this rare and rotund Sumatran endemic is found only in foothill forests between 900 to 2400 meters (typically in the upper half), where it is most easily detected by its strange song, a spaceship-like “oowOOOOwooWOOH.” Male has a sky-blue back and incomplete black collar, while the female has a dull brownish back and a dull blue tail. Both sexes have a rich cinnamon crown and nape, as well as a dark line extending behind the eye. Juvenile is strange-looking, with white spots on the crown, wings, and breast. Forages quietly on the forest floor, either singly or in pairs.
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