About the Peruvian Pelican
The Peruvian pelican is a member of the pelican family. It lives on the west coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from about 33.5 degrees south in central Chile to Piura in northern Peru, and occurring as a visitor in southern Chile and Ecuador. It used to be considered a subspecies of the brown pelican.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
These birds are dark in colour with a white stripe from the top of the bill up to the crown and down the sides of the neck. They have long tufted feathers on the top of their heads. It was previously considered a subspecies of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). The Peruvian pelican is considerably larger, ranging from about 5 to 7 kg (11–15 lb) in weight, 137 to 152 cm (4.5–5.0 ft) in length and with a wingspan of about 228 cm (7.5 ft).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Peruvian Pelican lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in El Salvador.
When to see the Peruvian Pelican
Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Spot-billed PelicanPelecanus philippensisThe spot-billed pelican is a rather large water bird, often the largest or one of the largest native birds in the southern stretches of its range, albeit it is fairly small for a pelican.
Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalusThe great white pelican is a huge bird—only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans.
Dalmatian PelicanPelecanus crispusThe Dalmatian pelican is the largest of all pelican species and one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, with a body length of 1.6–1.8 m (5 ft 3 in – 5 ft 11 in), a wingspan typically ranging between 2.7–3.2 m (8 ft 10 in – 10 ft 6 in)., and an average weight of about 9.5 kg (21 lb).
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