Birds · Pelecaniformes · Pelecanidae

Peruvian Pelican

Pelecanus thagus

Near Threatened

It could become endangered in the near future if current threats go unchecked. See full glossary

A large, dark seabird with a white stripe running from the top of the bill over the crown and down the sides of the neck. It sports long tufted plumes on the head. Compared with the brown pelican it has a proportionally longer crest and a different colour on the gular pouch, the bill, the scapulars and the greater wing coverts.

Weight

5 kg – 7 kg

Size

1.4 m – 1.5 m

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Piscivore

Feeds mainly on fish.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

OceanPiscivore Diurnal Colonial Near Threatened Bird Ocean

3countries 6parks 1dive sites7same family

Fun facts

It split from the brown pelican only 0.64-1.54 million years ago, through partial oceanographic barriers (the Humboldt and Equatorial currents) combined with different selective regimes.
Although its range overlaps widely with that of the brown pelican, the two do not hybridise: one of the arguments that led to it being recognised as a species of its own.
Fledglings have been documented attacking and eating unrelated younger birds of their own species.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: The Pacific coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from central Chile to Piura, in northern Peru. It reaches the Beagle Channel in the south and occurs as a vagrant in Argentina, mainly on Andean lakes
Birth weight: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity: 3-4 years
Gestation / incubation: ~30 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2-3 eggs per clutch

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; BirdLife DataZone; Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile (RCE, 15.º proceso); Jaramillo 2007; Kennedy et al. 2013, Journal of Avian Biology 44(3); Daigre, Arce y Simeone 2012, Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124(3); Molina 1782