Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus Scientific name definitions

Though closely related, the Peruvian Pelican is almost twice as large as its northern congener, the Brown Pelican.  The species breeds along the Pacific Coast of South America in Peru and Chile.  Though still common, with about half a million breeding adults, the population has been negatively affected by strong El Niño fluctuations and changes in food fish populations, particularly anchoveta.  Peruvian Pelicans are easily observed from shore as they fly back and forth in nearshore waters by means of soaring interrupted by deep, methodical wingbeats.

137–152 cm; 5055–7030 g; wingspan 228 cm. Larger than P. occidentalis, tends to have longer nuchal white crest at start of breeding season, scapulars and tertial coverts nearly plain silvery white, median and many lesser upperwing-coverts pale silvery grey, forming large pale panel  that contrasts in flight , cream-yellow of head continues as pale line around pouch base, dark on neck of breeding plumage  is blackish  rather than dark chestnut, abdomen hardly darker than sides and flanks, each feather with narrow pale shaft and may retain some pale spots, facial skin often blacker and warty at forehead, bill largely pale horn to straw-yellow with red on distal part of maxilla and more of distal half of mandible, legs may have olive or even dull yellowish tinge, and in breeding condition pouch largely pale powder blue with some black and cream-yellow at base. Plumage maturation takes two years. Subadult retains much white on abdomen, juvenile has largely straw-yellow and pale greyish bill with some orange-red on sides, pouch straw-yellow to pale grey, legs cream-yellow to greyish, head quickly becomes white, while immature may have head and neck of pre-breeding adult, and courtship-coloured bill when body still mostly brown.

Part of a clade that includes also P. occidentalis and P. erythrorhynchos (1 Kennedy, M., Taylor, S.A., Nádvorník, P. and Spencer, H.G. (2013). The phylogenetic relationships of the extant pelicans inferred from DNA sequence data. Mol. Phyl. & Evol.. 66(1): 215–222. Close ). Often considered a subspecies of P. occidentalis, but differs in its greater size (data weak but probably at least 2); proportionately longer crest (at least 1); blue-and-dark-striped gular pouch (3); red on lower mandible extending >50% vs <50% length of bill from tip, with basal section of upper mandible yellower vs more horn-coloured (2); whitish vs grey scapulars (2); whitish vs grey greater coverts on all secondaries except for blackish innermost covering blackish tertials, creating strong contrast (ns[2]); small black papillae in loral area vs none (ns[2]) (2 Jaramillo, A., P. Burke, and D. Beadle (2003). Field Guide to the Birds of Chile including the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 3 SACC (2007). Proposal (#271) to South American Classification Committee. Separate Pelecanus thagus from P. occidentalis. URL: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop271.html (download Dec 2013). Close ). Monotypic.

Breeds on coasts from N Peru (Piura) S to 33.5° S in C Chile; ranges N to S Ecuador (4 Ridgely, R. S., and P. J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Volumes 1 and 2. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ) and S to S Chile (2 Jaramillo, A., P. Burke, and D. Beadle (2003). Field Guide to the Birds of Chile including the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Strictly marine , very rarely inland. Prefers shallow inshore waters along coast, including estuaries and bays; avoids open sea. Breeds preferably on remote small, flat, bare islands or arid coasts; requires isolation from disturbance and terrestrial predators. Often around  fishing ports, feeding on fish scraps and roosting on fishing craft.

Most populations resident and dispersive. One recorded in Mar 2008 in São Paulo (SE Brazil) (5 Patrial, L.W., Souza de Paula Pessoa, A. and Pereira, G.A. (2011). Primeiro registro do pelicano-peruano Pelecanus thagus no Brasil e registro documentado do pelicano-pardo P. occidentalis na costa leste brasileira. Rev. Bras. Orn. 19(4): 539–540. Close ) and there is also a record from E end of Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, in Feb.

Mostly fish, with largest congregations in areas with abundant Peruvian anchovies (Engraulis ringens), apparently tending to feed further offshore, on average, than P. occidentalis in regions where the two species overlap, and also seems to dive less regularly than latter species and to more regularly congregate around fishing boats. Five adults equipped with GPS dataloggers during the incubation period at Lobos de Tierra I, Peru, undertook nocturnal trips in search of anchovies, generally departing after sunset and always returning early in morning (6 Zavalaga, C.B., Dell’Omo, G., Becciu, P. and Yoda, K. (2011). Patterns of GPS tracks suggest nocturnal foraging by incubating Peruvian Pelicans (Pelecanus thagus). PLOS One. 6(5): e19966. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019966. Close ). Well-grown chicks have been seen to consume unrelated conspecific chicks at a colony in C Chile (7 Daigre, M., Arce, P. and Simeone, A. (2012). Fledgling Peruvian Pelicans (Pelecanus thagus) attack and consume younger unrelated conspecifics. Wilson J. Orn.. 124(3): 603–607. Close ).

Breeds in loose colonies on rocky coasts, often on offshore islands. Pairs nest in discrete groups of different sizes, ranging from ten to several 100s (typically smaller than 200 pairs, though see Status and Conservation). Breeding occurs mainly during austral spring/summer (Sept–Mar), but can occur throughout the year and regular winter breeding has been reported. Settlement and courtship begin in mid Sept/Oct. Most frequent clutch size is three eggs (range 1–8), laid in hollow scrape (just c. 25 cm in diameter) in sand or guano, at intervals of c. 48 hours; chalky white, size usually 76–86 mm × 53–62 mm, mean mass 149 g. Laying asynchronous and may occur from Oct to Feb but peaks between mid Nov and early Dec. Most chicks hatch between late Dec and early Jan. Eggs predated by gulls and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura). White down-covered chicks gather in crèches when three to four weeks old; fledge at c. 85 days of age.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. The global population is estimated by Wetlands International to be in the range of 100,000–1,000,000 individuals. No definitive evidence of successful breeding in Chilean Patagonia, but numbers have been increasing there in recent years, with pelicans present on at least three islands known to host other nesting seabirds, suggesting that the species’ breeding range is spreading S (8 Cursach, J.A., Rau, J.R. and Vilugrón, J. (2016). Presence of the Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus in seabird colonies of Chilean Patagonia. Marine Orn.. 44(1): 27–30. Close ). Overall, in Chile 24 colonies are known, of which c. 30% are within protected areas; between 2010 and 2015 numbers decreased significantly in C Chile, with most being present during the austral winter in this region, but in the S the population is apparently increasing (9 Cursach, J., Rau, J., Gelcich, S. and Rodríguez‐Maulén, J. (2018). Situación poblacional del Pelícano Peruano (Pelecanus thagus) en Chile: prospección inicial. Orn. Neotropical. 29: 77–89. Close ). Throughout the range, breeding numbers vary dramatically between years in tandem with massive fluctuations in Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) availability associated with El Niño events. Drastic declines of pelicans accompanied El Niño year of 1998, following which recovery was gradual. Scale of fluctuations well illustrated by counts from Lobos de Afuera Is, Peru, where 100,000 individuals and 10,000–20,000 nests were estimated in 1919, and the population numbered 200,000 individuals and 50,000 nests in 1930s. More recently, the population there in 2009 averaged just 6644 birds, whereas there was an estimated 160,000–210,000 pairs recorded in 2011 (10 Figueroa, J. (2013). Las aves de la isla Lobos de Tierra, Perú: revisión bibliográfica y nuevos registros (1684-2011). Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 21(1):58–74. Close ). The problem caused by natural fluctuations in prey availability has been aggravated since mid-20th century by drastic overfishing of anchovies by industrial fishmeal fisheries, depleting stocks to extent that there have been episodes of starvation by breeding guano birds, including this species. A network of protected islands now provides some support and the population now appears to be stable or increasing.