---
title: "Pearl Kite"
description: "Gampsonyx swainsonii — Birds. The pearl kite (Gampsonyx swainsonii) is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland in Central and South America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pearl-kite
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pearl Kite

> Gampsonyx swainsonii — Birds. The pearl kite (Gampsonyx swainsonii) is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland in Central and South America.

- Scientific name: *Gampsonyx swainsonii*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 1371
- Wikidata: [Q1047238](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1047238)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5342](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5342)

## Names

- en: Pearl Kite
- de: Perlaar
- es: Elanio enano
- fr: Élanion perle
- nl: Parelwouw
- pt: Gaviãozinho
- pl: Jaszczurnik

## Countries with the most observations

BR (358), CO (259), PA (176), EC (107), CR (85), TT (65), NI (50), PE (41), SV (41), VE (40), GY (23), HN (20)

## Summary

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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_kite

## Photo

![Pearl Kite](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pearl-kite/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kimball Garrett · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/391598302

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pearl-kite?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).