Peruvian Pelican

The Peruvian Pelican is a large, dark-plumaged pelican restricted to the productive Pacific waters off Peru and Chile, closely associated with the cold, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current system. It is among the largest pelicans, though notably darker overall than its North American relatives.

Appearance

Adults are mostly blackish-brown to slate-grey, with a pale white or cream stripe running down the sides of the neck during the breeding season, along with a large yellow-orange bill and pouch.

Key field marks

• Large, dark blackish-brown to grey body plumage
• White or cream neck stripe visible in breeding adults
• Large yellow-orange bill and pouch
• Restricted range along the Pacific coast of South America

Similar species

The Peruvian Pelican is much darker overall than the Brown Pelican it superficially resembles, and it is notably larger; the two species' ranges overlap only marginally, with the Peruvian Pelican confined mainly to the Humboldt Current region.

Habitat and range

Peruvian Pelicans are found along the Pacific coast of South America, primarily off Peru and Chile, closely tied to the cold, highly productive waters of the Humboldt Current. They roost and breed on rocky coastal islands, cliffs, and headlands.

Population numbers can fluctuate significantly with El Nino events, which disrupt the cold-water upwelling that sustains the small schooling fish the species depends on, sometimes causing widespread breeding failure or mortality.

Behavior

Peruvian Pelicans forage by plunge-diving from the air into schools of small fish, particularly anchoveta, which are extraordinarily abundant in the Humboldt Current ecosystem under normal conditions.

Voice

Adults are largely silent, with occasional low grunts given near breeding colonies.

Nesting and breeding

They nest colonially on rocky coastal islands and headlands, often alongside other seabirds such as cormorants and boobies, laying two to three eggs in simple ground scrapes or low mounds.