Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
The Pearl Archipelago is located in the Gulf of Panama, the northernmost islands being located 28 km from the mainland. The largest islands are the Isla del Rey (24,113 ha), Isla San José (4,455 ha), Pedro González (1,461 ha). There are dozens of smaller islands. Most of the archipelago is sparsely inhabited, mainly by afrocoloniales.
The archipelago is an important nesting site for colonial waterbirds, especially Brown Pelican. The largest colony of this species in Panama is found on Isla Pedro González, and other significant colonies occur on Señora, Pacheca, Pachequilla, San Telmo, and San Pablo. Other colonially nesting species include Brown Booby, Blue-footed Booby, Neotropic Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and White Ibis. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron is common coastally throughout the archipelago. San José, Pedro González, and Rey are the only localities in Panama for the nationally endangered White-fringed Antwren, represented by an endemic subspecies. The next closest locality for the species is northern Colombia. The nationally threatened Yellow-crowned Amazon also occurs. Research in the Pearl Archipelago has yielded important information on island biogeography, ecology, and genetic differentiation in isolated populations (MacArthur et al. 1972, Wright et al. 1985, Brawn et al. 1996). The archipelago, with 13 endemic subspecies, is an important center of subspecific differentiation.
Non-bird biodiversity: American Crocodile occurs.
The larger islands are mainly covered by semideciduous lowland forest. Some small areas near towns on Isla del Rey are deforested for subsistence agriculture. Most of the forest on Pedro González is disturbed, while that on San José is mostly intact. Coastal habitats include sandy beaches, rocky shores, and mangroves. The smallest islands are covered in scrub and grass. The only large scale development is found on Isla Contadora, which is mainly occupied by vacation homes and tourist hotels. Otherwise there are only seven small communities in the archipelago, whose inhabitants engage mainly in fishing and subsistence agriculture. There is a small fishing lodge on San José.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Although relatively undeveloped at present, the Pearl Islands are attracting increasing interest for tourism development. A major planned development on Isla Viveros has begun construction, which has caused substantial deforestation. Other large developments are planned on other islands.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The archipelago is the focus of research and conservation projects by the Smithsonian Tropcial Research Institute under H. Guzman.
The central part of Isla del Rey has recently been declared a watershed protection forest.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Pearl Archipelago (Panama). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/pearl-archipelago-iba-panama on 05/01/2025.
