The Peruvian pelican (''Pelecanus thagus'') is a member of the

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

family. It lives on the west coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, breeding in loose

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

from about 33.5° in central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

in northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and occurring as a visitor in southern Chile and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

Alive
Peruvian pelican.
Retrieved 21 May 2017.

Description

These birds are dark in colour with a white stripe from the top of the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

up to the crown and down the sides of the neck. They have long tufted

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s on the top of their heads. It was previously considered a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

(''Pelecanus occidentalis''). The Peruvian pelican is considerably larger, ranging from about in weight, in length and with a wingspan of about . Compared to the brown pelican, it also has proportionally longer crest feathers, as well as differences in the colours of the

gular pouch Gular skin (throat skin), in ornithology, is an area of featherless skin on birds that joins the lower mandible of the beak (or ''bill'') to the bird's neck. Other vertebrate taxa may have a comparable anatomical structure that is referred to as e ...

, beak,

scapulars The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either ...

and greater

wing covert A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

Behaviour

Breeding

The main breeding season occurs from September to March.

Clutch size __NOTOC__ A clutch of egg (biology), eggs is the group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest. In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators (or removal by humans, for exam ...

is usually two or three

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. Eggs are incubated for approximately 4 to 5 weeks, with the rearing period lasting about 3 months.

Feeding

This bird feeds on several species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. Unlike the brown pelican, it never dives from a great height to catch it food, instead diving from a shallow height or feeding while swimming on the surface. On occasion it may take other food items, such as nestling of

imperial shag The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...

s, young

Peruvian diving petrel The Peruvian diving petrel (''Pelecanoides garnotii'') (local name in Peru: potoyunco) is a small seabird that feeds in offshore waters in the Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile. Taxonomy The Peruvian diving petrel was formally described in 18 ...

gray gull The grey gull, also known as garuma gull (''Leucophaeus modestus'') is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-bree ...

s and cannibalize unrelated chicks of its own species.

Conservation

Its status was first evaluated for the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

in 2008, being listed as

Near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

(BLI) (2008
Peruvian Pelican Species Factsheet

Gallery

File:Pelecanus thagus -Pan de Azucar National Park, Atacama Region, Chile -head-8.jpg, Peruvian pelican in

Pan de Azúcar National Park Pan de Azúcar National Park is a national park of Chile. The park straddles the border between the Antofagasta Region and the Atacama Region. Its name, ''Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar'', means "sugar loaf national park". Geography The park ...

, Chile File:Peruvian pelican in Pan de Azucar National Park in Chile September 2009.jpg, Peruvian pelican in Pan de Azúcar National Park, Chile File:Several Peruvian pelicans in Pan de Azucar National Park in Chile September 2009.jpg, Several Peruvian pelicans at the Caleta Pan de Azúcar fishing village in Pan de Azúcar National Park, Chile File:Pelecanus_thagus_(Peruvian_Pelican_-_Chile-Pelikan)_-_Weltvogelpark_Walsrode_2012-02_cropped.jpg, A Peruvian pelican takes a bath at

Weltvogelpark Walsrode Weltvogelpark Walsrode, known as Walsrode Bird Park or Jubs in English until 2010, is a bird park located in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany within the municipality of Bomlitz near Walsrode in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. ...

, Germany File:Pelecanus thagus in the Ballestas islands.jpg, Peruvian pelicans in the Ballestas Islands, Peru File:Peruvian pelican in Paracas, Peru.jpg, Peruvian pelican in Paracas, Peru

References

External links

Mundo Azul Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q845979

Peruvian pelican The Peruvian pelican (''Pelecanus thagus'') is a member of the pelican family. It lives on the west coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from about 33.5° in central Chile to Piura in northern Peru, and occurring as a visitor in ...

Birds of Peru Birds of Chile Western South American coastal birds