The Peruvian booby (Sula variegata ) is an endemic bird of the Peruvian current, and an important predator of the marine community to which it belongs. Its distribution is much less widespread than other closely related booby species. It is the most abundant seabird species that inhabits the Peruvian coast and the second most important guano-producing seabird. During the mid-twentieth century, the Peruvian booby population reached 3 million birds.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, b...
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust and is employed by gliding animals. Birds in particular use gliding flight to m...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Peruvian booby has brown upperparts, and white underparts, as well as a white head. There is noticeable white mottling on the upper side of the wings. Their wing-coverts are tipped white, creating a scale-like pattern. They have a long, pointed, grey bill. Their feet are webbed and also grey; as opposed to the characteristic colouring of the blue-footed and red-footed boobiesFemale boobies tend to be larger than their male counterparts: their bodies an average of 19% heavier, and their wings 4% larger.
The Peruvian booby is confined to the waters of the Humboldt current, off the coast of South America. They can be found off the shores of Peru, south to the middle part of Chile. Their abundance on the islands of Lobos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera have resulted in a great deal of research being done on the species from these locations.
Their colonies nest on smooth, windswept sand flats that allow their nests to stay between a temperature range of approximately 28 °C to 38 °C. These salt flats, or pampas, allow for a fairly high density of booby nests.
Peruvian boobies have relatively low wing loading, and are considered glide-flappers, meaning they alternate active flapping with short periods of gliding. Because of their wing morphology and style of flight, they have a preference of flying across the wind, as opposed to flying with a tailwind or headwind. This is beneficial because it requires less energy than flying directly into the wind, while it results in a higher prey encounter rate than flying at high speed with a tailwind.
The average speed of the Peruvian booby is approximately 44 km/hour, however they have been seen to be able to fly at speeds up to 139 km/hour.
The diet of the Peruvian booby consists primarily of anchovy, particularly Peruvian anchoveta. However, there is some variation in their diet based on their life stage. As well as anchovy, they are also documented to eat mackerel, depending on the relative abundance of their prey. They rely on the cold, productive waters of the Humboldt Current upwelling system for a consistent food source.
The events of El Nino have a significant impact on the success of the Peruvian booby, as they are responsible for a reduced availability of food for the birds. This in turn results in a decrease in breeding success.
Peruvian boobies are plunge divers, with a relatively short dive time of 3.1–3.4 seconds. It is possible for them to demonstrate dives up to 15 seconds. With a mean dive depth of between 2.3–4.3 metres, they are relatively shallow diving birds.
They forage fairly close to shore, usually less than 5 km from their nests, however they have been seen as far as 40 km from the coast. Their foraging trips tend to only be a few hours, which is short in comparison to other similar sea birds that can spend several days foraging at sea. This suggests that Peruvian boobies prefer to remain closer to their colony when foraging. They forage in both smaller and larger groups.
They do not feed in very deep oceanic waters, and prefer shallow coastal areas and waters just off of the continental shelf break. When foraging at sea, the birds spend 90% of their time flying, and less than 10% of the time actually diving.
Peruvian boobies breed throughout the year, however the main breeding season occurs during the austral spring-summer period (September to March). Pairs of birds may attempt to breed for a second time during the year depending on food availability. Peruvian boobies clutch size varies from one to four eggs, but clutches are most frequently 2–3 in size. The eggs are pale blue in colour. Eggs are incubated for approximately 4 to 5 weeks, and both male and female parents share the nest attendance. The rearing period lasts about 3 months. Breeding success depends on food availability and is related to colony location, colony size and timing of breeding, among other variables.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...