• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Near Threatened	A2cd
2016	Near Threatened	A2cd
2012	Near Threatened	A2cd
2010	Near Threatened	A2c,d
2008	Near Threatened	A2c,d
2006	Not Recognised
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,510,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	2,590,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	medium	estimated	2006
Population trend	increasing	poor	suspected	1964-2010
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	15.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The most recent population estimate places it at 100,000-1,000,000 individuals.

Trend justification: It is likely to have been as badly affected by the El Niño event of 1998 as other Humboldt Current species such as Inca Tern Larosterna inca, and although the population is thought to be increasing (Delany and Scott 2006), declines over 36 years (three generations) are thought to have been in the region of 10-19%.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Chile	extant	native	yes
Ecuador	extant	vagrant
Peru	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Chile	Desembocadura del Río Imperial
Chile	Desembocadura del Río Itata
Chile	Guaneras de Cutipa
Chile	Humedal El Yali
Chile	Isla Mocha
Chile	Isla Pájaro Niño de Algarrobo
Chile	Islotes Pajaros
Chile	Monumento Natural Isla Cachagua
Chile	Paradero de aves Roquerios de Laucho y Lisera
Chile	Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar
Chile	Playa Hornitos
Chile	Puerto de Arica
Chile	Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt - Isla Choros, Damas y Punta de Choros
Chile	Santuario de la Naturaleza Humedal Laguna Reloca
Chile	Santuario de la Naturaleza Península de Hualpén
Chile	Santuario de la Naturaleza Rocas de Constitución
Peru	Isla Lobos de Tierra

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	suitable	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Competition, Reduced reproductive success
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Reduced reproductive success

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/peruvian-pelican-pelecanus-thagus on 04/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 04/12/2024.