Peruvian terns Sterna lorata

Peruvian terns one of the rarest seabirds in the world. Its distribution is restrictive to the western coast of South America from Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador southward to Mejillones in Chile. Following the discovery of the first nest by Dr. Robert C. Murphy in 1919, only five small breeding colonies have been reported in Peru: Mollendo-Arequipa (Hughes 1967), Tres Hermanas-Ica (Galarza 1968), Puerto Viejo-Lima (Plenge 1969), Pativilva-Lima (Koepcke 1970) and Paracas (Bertolero and Zavalaga 1996). Breeding areas in northern Chile have been found at Iquique (Johnson and Goodall) and recently near Mejillones (Vilina 1998).

The colonies in Mejía and Puerto Viejo have disappeared, whereas it is unknown whether the terns are still nesting in Pativilca. Thus, only two colonies of Peruvian terns in Peru are known to be currently actives. Both colonies do not hold more than 10 nests each! Peruvian terns nest in loose aggregations in the flat plains of the desert. They are found inland 2-3 km from the shore, but in some colonies as in Puerto Viejo, they nest near the beach. No nest material are used and eggs and chicks are very cryptic and difficult to find. Ground temperatures are as high as 40^oC in hot days. Nesting sites are very quite. It is likely that all these nesting adaptations have been selected to avoid massive predation by foxes or crabs.

There is a scarce information on their breeding biology, diet, population size, nesting requirements, etc. They are not listed as endangered species in Peru, in spite of the lack of information and its very low numbers. Main threats may include  disturbance in their breeding sites and introduction of domestic animals as dogs and cats near their nesting sites. Fences should be built around their breeding sites to avoid the access of vehicles.