Peruvian booby

How it lives

Peruvian boobies nest in colonies on coastal islands and cliffs. Breeding in Peru is seasonal but not synchronised, with a peak from about September to March, and some pairs can breed up to twice a year when food allows. Clutches are usually two or three eggs. Incubation takes about four to five weeks, and chicks fledge after roughly three months. They spend most of the day flying. Females are about 17 to 19 percent heavier than males. A database source gives an average lifespan of 8.4 years and a longest known of 23.3 years.

Where it goes

Peruvian boobies stay in the cold Humboldt Current off Peru and central Chile and do not make long migrations. Many feed close to the colony, often under 5 km, and sometimes up to about 40 km. In a study at Isla Guañape Norte, trips averaged about 73 to 113 km depending on ocean conditions.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

IUCN lists the species as Least Concern (BirdLife International, 2018). It is the most abundant seabird on the Peruvian coast, and numbers swing with the anchoveta and El Niño. The population reached about 3 million in the mid-20th century and then fell to under 200,000 after an El Niño in the 1980s, according to one source. One colony, Isla Guañape Norte, hosts about 192,000 individuals. After the January 2022 oil spill off Lima, Peruvian boobies were among the species found dead, part of 1,852 dead wild animals of 28 species recorded by SERFOR.