Birds
Peruvian Diving-petrel
Pelecanoides garnotii · also called Peruvian diving petrel
Nesting in burrows dug into thick deposits of guano along the desert coastlines of Peru and Chile, a Peruvian diving-petrel has watched its traditional breeding habitat disappear under commercial mining, driving one of the steepest declines of any diving-petrel species.
Overview
The Peruvian diving-petrel, Pelecanoides garnotii, is an Endangered seabird native to ocean and coastal habitat along the coasts of Peru and northern Chile. Its guano-dependent nesting habits, steep historical decline, and close reliance on the Humboldt Current make it one of the more conservation-critical diving-petrel species found anywhere in the world.
A nest built from a resource humans wanted too
Long before conservationists understood the stakes, commercial guano mining stripped away the very deposits the Peruvian diving-petrel relied on to dig its nesting burrows, an indirect but devastating consequence of harvesting a resource that seabirds and people both valued.
Status
Endangered, having declined sharply from historical levels due to guano mining, introduced predators, and periodic El Nino-driven food shortages.
Peruvian Diving-petrel: common questions
Why has the Peruvian diving-petrel declined so much?
This species has declined sharply from historical population levels, driven by a combination of habitat loss from guano mining, introduced predators, and periodic El Nino-driven food shortages.
Why does guano mining threaten the Peruvian diving-petrel?
This species nests in burrows dug into thick deposits of seabird guano, so commercial mining of those deposits directly destroys the nesting habitat it depends on to breed.
How does the Peruvian diving-petrel catch its food?
This species swims underwater using rapid, whirring wingbeats to pursue small fish and crustaceans, bursting directly from the waves back into flight without pausing on the surface.
Why is the Peruvian diving-petrel tied to the Humboldt Current?
This species depends heavily on the cold, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current for its food supply, making it especially vulnerable whenever that current weakens during periodic El Nino events.